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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 120 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: bay · bear · chest · spring · bore · cap · field · tube

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. tube — a container
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. spring — of water
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bear — the animal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. spring — the season
  10. field — a subject
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bore — to drill
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. chest — of your body
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bear — the animal
  23. chest — a box
  24. bay — a horse colour

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