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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: rash · kick · field · pound · bore · cell · fan · snap

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. field — farmland
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. rash — hasty
  7. field — a subject
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. cell — in biology
  10. snap — to click
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rash — a series
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. bore — to tire
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. kick — in football
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. field — for sport

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