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

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. kick — in football
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. foot — a measure
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. snap — to click
  8. net — in sport
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. field — farmland
  11. net — after costs
  12. ground — a position
  13. spring — of water
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. field — for sport
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wound — an injury
  19. ground — the earth
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. ground — crushed
  22. net — for catching
  23. field — a subject
  24. wound — an injury

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