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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: bear · game · shower · bore · field · court · staff · current

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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. court — for sport
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — to drill
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. field — farmland
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. game — wild animals
  12. staff — a stick
  13. court — of a king
  14. bear — the animal
  15. staff — employees
  16. court — of law
  17. current — of water
  18. current — happening now
  19. field — for sport
  20. staff — employees
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. current — electric
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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