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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. lean — thin
  3. field — a subject
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. field — for sport
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. lean — to bend
  9. band — a music group
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mine — for digging
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. field — farmland
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. band — a ring
  24. bore — to drill

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