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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bore — to tire
  4. root — the cause
  5. bore — to drill
  6. clip — a video
  7. drill — army training
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wound — an injury
  10. drill — the tool
  11. root — of a plant
  12. field — farmland
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. hand — help
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. clip — for paper
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. hand — in cards
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. wound — an injury
  24. root — of a word

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