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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. plane — a tool
  5. drill — army training
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. field — for sport
  11. pound — a weight
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. lie — to recline
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. drill — a practice
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. drill — the tool
  23. hand — help
  24. field — farmland

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