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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 had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. present — there
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. face — to confront
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bore — to drill
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bear — the animal
  13. present — the time now
  14. bore — to tire
  15. kick — in football
  16. present — a gift
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. wax — to grow
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. field — for sport
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. pass — a permit
  24. field — farmland

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