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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. field — for sport
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. present — there
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — a weight
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — a gift
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. field — farmland
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. chest — a box
  24. trunk — of a tree

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