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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. foot — a measure
  5. field — a subject
  6. march — the month
  7. can — a tin
  8. bore — to tire
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. field — farmland
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bore — to drill
  15. rush — hurry
  16. can — to be able to
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. file — a tool
  19. march — music
  20. field — for sport
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. file — a document
  24. can — a tin

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