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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. roll — a cake
  3. date — the fruit
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. bore — to drill
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a line
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — to get on
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. bore — to tire
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. rule — government
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. mine — for digging
  22. field — for sport
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — to rule out

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