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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. row — a line
  4. field — farmland
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. prune — to trim
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bulb — for light
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bulb — for light
  18. rock — a stone
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rock — music
  21. field — a subject
  22. wind — moving air
  23. field — for sport
  24. wind — to turn a key

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