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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: row · bore · roll · wound · spring · cue · pitcher · field

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — to paddle
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. field — farmland
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. roll — a cake
  11. spring — of water
  12. bore — to tire
  13. cue — for pool
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cue — a signal
  16. field — a subject
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bore — to drill
  19. spring — the season
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. field — for sport
  22. spring — a coil
  23. roll — a list
  24. cue — a hint

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