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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. field — a subject
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. staff — employees
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. field — farmland
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. field — for sport
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. bore — to tire
  18. pound — a weight
  19. season — in sport
  20. tube — a container
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. rash — a series
  23. bore — to drill
  24. tube — the underground

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