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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 116 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wind — moving air
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. bore — to tire
  5. season — in sport
  6. field — for sport
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. mine — for digging
  14. field — a subject
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. rush — hurry
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. season — of the year
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bore — to drill
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. deal — to handle

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