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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 120 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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. drill — the tool
  5. press — to push
  6. game — wild animals
  7. field — farmland
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. bore — to drill
  10. drill — army training
  11. bore — to tire
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. drill — a practice
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — newspapers
  20. chest — of your body
  21. game — a match
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. rush — hurry
  24. fan — a supporter

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