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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wake — a trail
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. object — to protest
  5. wound — an injury
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. present — there
  10. wind — moving air
  11. field — a subject
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. object — an aim
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — a gift
  18. field — farmland
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. object — a thing
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wind — moving air

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