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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cold · pit · fine · swing · mine · wax · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. swing — to play on
  7. cold — not warm
  8. swing — music
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. wax — to grow
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pit — a hole
  13. fine — high quality
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pit — in a race
  16. bore — to tire
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. field — farmland
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. mine — for digging
  21. fine — all right
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bore — to drill
  24. field — for sport

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