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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.

Words on the sheet
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: ground · bore · field · lie · key · shower · fine · wind

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. key — in music
  3. fine — high quality
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. key — the most important part
  6. shower — to wash
  7. field — farmland
  8. shower — rain
  9. field — for sport
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to drill
  12. key — for a lock
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wind — moving air
  15. lie — to recline
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bore — to tire
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. field — a subject
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. ground — a position

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