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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: current · bore · field · cabinet · cold · lash · fork · spell

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. bore — to tire
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. field — for sport
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — electric
  7. current — of water
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. spell — letters
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. field — farmland
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. fork — in a road
  19. field — a subject
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. spell — magic
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. bore — to drill
  24. cold — the Cold War

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