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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: bore · wave · rule · mine · ground · band · field · fall

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. ground — a position
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. rule — a law
  6. mine — for digging
  7. field — a subject
  8. ground — the earth
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. bore — to drill
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. ground — crushed
  14. rule — government
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a music group
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  24. band — a ring

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