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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bank — for money
  6. cold — an illness
  7. field — a subject
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bark — to shout
  14. swing — to play on
  15. field — farmland
  16. bore — to tire
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bank — for money
  19. swing — music
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. field — for sport
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bank — of a river
  24. swing — in golf

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