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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: bay · cell · field · rock · mug · row · cold · bore

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cold — not warm
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. field — farmland
  9. cell — a phone
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. field — for sport
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bore — to tire
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rock — music
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mug — a face
  22. mug — a cup
  23. rock — a stone
  24. bore — gave birth

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