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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 116 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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. field — farmland
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. spell — letters
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. mark — a grade
  9. wound — an injury
  10. band — a ring
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. band — a music group
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. field — for sport
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. field — a subject
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — magic

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