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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. field — a subject
  3. bore — to drill
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. spring — the season
  6. field — for sport
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. field — farmland
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — the underground
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. spring — a coil
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. tube — a container
  17. row — to paddle
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. spring — of water
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. kick — in football
  24. row — a line

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