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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — for sport
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. present — a gift
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. shower — rain
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. kid — child
  10. present — the time now
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. board — a committee
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. kid — to tease
  19. present — there
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. board — to get on
  22. wind — moving air
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. field — a subject

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