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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. field — for sport
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — a trail
  6. cap — a hat
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. shower — to wash
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cap — a lid
  13. fine — all right
  14. field — farmland
  15. cap — of ice
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. field — a subject
  18. wake — before a funeral

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