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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. field — for sport
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — the tool
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bass — the fish
  9. wound — an injury
  10. kick — in football
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bass — low music
  13. drill — army training
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. suit — to fit
  17. wound — an injury
  18. suit — clothes
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. field — farmland
  21. suit — in cards
  22. shower — rain
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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