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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 124 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. march — the month
  3. field — a subject
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. net — in sport
  7. prune — to trim
  8. field — for sport
  9. march — music
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. net — after costs
  17. plane — a tool
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. march — the month
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. net — for catching
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. prune — to trim

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