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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. field — a subject
  4. bore — to tire
  5. field — farmland
  6. stand — to bear
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — a trail
  9. ground — a position
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. land — to come down
  12. ground — crushed
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. land — a country
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. field — for sport
  17. bore — to drill
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. land — ground
  20. kid — child
  21. ground — the earth
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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