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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 120 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: firm · field · bat · fine · bore · mouse · last · mine

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. bat — the animal
  3. last — finally
  4. field — a subject
  5. firm — steady
  6. bore — to tire
  7. fine — all right
  8. firm — a company
  9. last — to go on
  10. fine — high quality
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bore — to drill
  16. field — for sport
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. last — final
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. field — farmland
  22. mine — for digging
  23. firm — decided
  24. mouse — for a computer

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