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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. bat — the animal
  3. field — a subject
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bore — to tire
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — for sport
  9. tear — to rip
  10. field — farmland
  11. present — a gift
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. tear — from crying
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. present — there
  20. fork — in a road
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. present — the time now
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. fork — to eat with

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