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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: racket · stick · wound · bore · field · cell · chest · rash

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — in biology
  4. field — a subject
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chest — a box
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cell — a phone
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. field — farmland
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bore — to tire
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. rash — a series
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. field — for sport
  24. bore — to drill

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