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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. field — for sport
  3. ground — the earth
  4. kid — child
  5. ground — crushed
  6. branch — a division
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. row — to paddle
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. lean — to bend
  15. rest — a break
  16. lean — thin
  17. field — farmland
  18. row — a line
  19. field — a subject
  20. kid — to tease
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. rest — what's left

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