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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bear — the animal
  3. rest — what's left
  4. drill — army training
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — to rob
  7. file — a line of people
  8. mug — a face
  9. file — a tool
  10. field — for sport
  11. kid — child
  12. bear — the animal
  13. field — farmland
  14. drill — a practice
  15. present — a gift
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. file — a document
  18. rest — what's left
  19. field — a subject
  20. present — the time now
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. kid — to tease
  23. drill — the tool
  24. rest — a break

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