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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 120 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. track — a song
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. saw — the tool
  5. field — for sport
  6. bore — to drill
  7. wound — an injury
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. ball — a great time
  10. saw — the tool
  11. field — farmland
  12. ball — a dance
  13. bore — to tire
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wound — an injury
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. swing — music
  18. track — to keep track
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. track — a path
  22. swing — in golf
  23. field — a subject
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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