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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. stand — to bear
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — crushed
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bore — to drill
  7. field — farmland
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. row — a line
  10. present — the time now
  11. field — for sport
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. bore — to tire
  16. plane — a tool
  17. clip — a video
  18. row — to paddle
  19. present — a gift
  20. ground — the earth
  21. present — there
  22. clip — to cut
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. stand — on your feet

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