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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's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to drill
  4. face — to confront
  5. race — the arms race
  6. chest — of your body
  7. face — to point toward
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. firm — a company
  10. race — a contest
  11. face — part of the head
  12. firm — steady
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. chest — of your body
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. fork — in a road
  18. field — farmland
  19. chest — a box
  20. bore — to tire
  21. race — humankind
  22. firm — decided
  23. drill — a practice
  24. field — for sport

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