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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.

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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: shower · can · field · fine · bay · bore · coach · spring

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. spring — the season
  4. field — a subject
  5. bore — to drill
  6. fine — high quality
  7. field — for sport
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. can — a tin
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. can — a tin
  13. field — farmland
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to tire
  16. fine — all right
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. spring — of water
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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