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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. chest — of your body
  3. can — a tin
  4. rash — a series
  5. bore — to tire
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. field — for sport
  8. chest — a box
  9. can — a tin
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. branch — a division
  12. track — a path
  13. rash — hasty
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. can — to be able to
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. field — a subject
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. track — to keep track
  22. field — farmland
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. track — a song

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