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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: rush · wound · rash · pop · mark · bore · field · season

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. rush — hurry
  3. field — farmland
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. mark — a grade
  6. rash — hasty
  7. field — a subject
  8. wound — an injury
  9. field — for sport
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. season — in sport
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bore — to tire
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mark — a trace
  16. season — of the year
  17. bore — to drill
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. pop — music
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. pop — soda
  24. rash — a series

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