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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. date — the fruit
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. degree — from a university
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. craft — boats
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. degree — temperature
  12. field — for sport
  13. craft — a skill
  14. degree — an amount
  15. field — a subject
  16. bore — to drill
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wind — moving air
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. field — farmland
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. plane — a tool

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