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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: kick · nail · field · fork · mark · land · chest · bore

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. chest — of your body
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. land — ground
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bore — to drill
  7. mark — a grade
  8. field — a subject
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. mark — a trace
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bore — to tire
  13. chest — of your body
  14. field — farmland
  15. kick — in football
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. field — for sport
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. land — a country
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. fork — in a road
  24. chest — a box

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