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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. mate — a partner
  3. squash — to crush
  4. field — for sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. drill — the tool
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. field — a subject
  11. mate — a friend
  12. field — farmland
  13. wound — an injury
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. mate — to breed
  18. squash — the sport
  19. wound — an injury
  20. branch — a division
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. drill — army training
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — before a funeral

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