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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. present — there
  3. prune — to trim
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. chest — of your body
  6. row — a line
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. present — the time now
  10. bear — the animal
  11. row — to paddle
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chest — a box
  16. bear — the animal
  17. foot — a measure
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. chest — of your body
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. present — a gift
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. leaves — 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