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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. field — for sport
  3. bear — the animal
  4. key — in music
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. key — the most important part
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. branch — a division
  11. bear — the animal
  12. key — for a lock
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. field — farmland
  21. shower — rain
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. field — a subject
  24. shower — to wash

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