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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · bore · drill · wind · roll · race · mine · face

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. race — humankind
  5. drill — the tool
  6. wind — moving air
  7. roll — a cake
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. face — part of the head
  10. field — farmland
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. roll — a list
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bore — to drill
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bore — to tire
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — to confront
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. race — a contest
  24. wind — moving air

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