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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. row — a line
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rest — a break
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. rest — what's left
  13. row — to paddle
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bear — the animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bear — the animal
  19. field — for sport
  20. drill — the tool
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wake — a trail

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