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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mug — a cup
  4. rush — hurry
  5. field — farmland
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. mug — a face
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — the fruit
  10. land — ground
  11. bore — to drill
  12. mug — to rob
  13. land — a country
  14. field — for sport
  15. bore — to tire
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. ball — a great time
  18. land — to come down
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. field — a subject
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. ball — a round shape

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com