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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: field · bat · present · face · bore · bear · squash · rule

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. field — farmland
  3. present — a gift
  4. bat — the animal
  5. present — there
  6. face — to point toward
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. rule — government
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. present — the time now
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — a law
  23. face — to confront
  24. bore — gave birth

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