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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  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. rash — hasty
  2. field — farmland
  3. object — to protest
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rash — a series
  7. field — a subject
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. pop — soda
  10. object — a thing
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. pop — to visit
  14. rush — hurry
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pop — music
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. object — an aim
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. field — for sport
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. trunk — of a tree
  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