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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wake — a trail
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. kid — child
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wound — an injury
  18. snap — to click
  19. field — a subject
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. field — for sport
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. fan — a supporter

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