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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. bass — low music
  5. last — final
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. tear — from crying
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bass — the fish
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. last — to go on
  15. row — to paddle
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. last — finally
  24. row — a line

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