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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. season — of the year
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bore — to tire
  5. drill — army training
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. drill — the tool
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bore — to drill
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. clip — to cut
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. season — in sport
  19. field — for sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. clip — a video
  23. wind — moving air
  24. field — farmland

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