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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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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: jam · cold · tear · club · field · fan · bore · cell

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. club — a group
  7. cold — not warm
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. field — for sport
  11. bore — to drill
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. cold — an illness
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cell — in biology
  17. tear — to rip
  18. club — for dancing
  19. bore — to tire
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. club — for golf

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