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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: ball · pit · field · game · bore · stand · wound · pop

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pop — to visit
  3. field — a subject
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stand — to bear
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bore — to tire
  10. ball — a dance
  11. field — farmland
  12. game — a match
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. field — for sport
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pop — music
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pop — soda
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bore — to drill

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