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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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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: field · tube · land · bore · fan · fall · mark · net

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. field — a subject
  3. fall — to drop
  4. net — after costs
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. land — ground
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. net — in sport
  9. land — to come down
  10. mark — a trace
  11. fall — to drop
  12. field — for sport
  13. mark — a grade
  14. tube — the underground
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. land — a country
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. net — for catching
  21. field — farmland
  22. fall — the season
  23. bore — to drill
  24. tube — a container

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