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

Word bank: snap · cell · bore · field · coach · bay · ground · land

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. land — ground
  7. ground — a position
  8. bore — to drill
  9. land — a country
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. snap — to click
  12. ground — crushed
  13. cell — a phone
  14. land — to come down
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. field — a subject
  19. cell — in biology
  20. ground — the earth
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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