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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. field — for sport
  4. spring — a coil
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. field — a subject
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. spring — of water
  9. lie — to recline
  10. can — a tin
  11. mate — to breed
  12. can — to be able to
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. fork — in a road
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. spring — the season
  20. mate — a partner
  21. bore — to tire
  22. field — farmland
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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