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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. face — to confront
  4. spring — of water
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bore — to tire
  7. field — a subject
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. spring — the season
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bore — to drill
  18. pop — soda
  19. dip — to sink
  20. field — for sport
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. pop — music
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. pop — to visit

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