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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. field — a subject
  5. hand — help
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. wake — a trail
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. ball — a dance
  13. field — for sport
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pit — in a race
  17. lie — to recline
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. hand — in cards
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. file — a document
  23. ball — a great time
  24. patient — a sick person

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