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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: straw · field · calf · land · bore · pop · drill · coach

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bore — to drill
  4. field — farmland
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. drill — a practice
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. drill — the tool
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. field — a subject
  11. pop — soda
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pop — to visit
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. land — ground
  16. land — to come down
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. pop — music
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. field — for sport
  22. drill — army training
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. land — a country

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