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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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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: bore · straw · key · mark · ground · wind · row · field

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wind — moving air
  3. row — to paddle
  4. field — for sport
  5. wind — moving air
  6. field — farmland
  7. key — in music
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. bore — to tire
  13. row — a line
  14. ground — the earth
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. ground — crushed
  18. field — a subject
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. key — the most important part
  21. mark — a trace
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. key — for a lock
  24. bore — to drill

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