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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · shower · suit · spring · lie · mine · fine · bore

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fine — all right
  3. shower — rain
  4. bore — to tire
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. field — for sport
  8. lie — to recline
  9. suit — to fit
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. spring — of water
  12. suit — clothes
  13. field — a subject
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. fine — high quality
  17. field — farmland
  18. spring — the season
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. spring — a coil
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. suit — in cards
  23. bore — to drill
  24. mine — for digging

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