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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. field — for sport
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. field — a subject
  6. bore — to drill
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. drill — the tool
  10. net — in sport
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. stand — to bear
  13. field — farmland
  14. wind — moving air
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. drill — army training
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. net — for catching
  23. pound — a weight
  24. net — after costs

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