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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. ball — a great time
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. field — a subject
  7. bark — to shout
  8. pop — to visit
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. perch — the fish
  11. last — finally
  12. pop — soda
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. last — final
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. last — to go on
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. pop — music

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