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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. key — the most important part
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. shower — to wash
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. key — in music
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. hand — in cards
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. staff — a stick
  18. squash — the sport
  19. key — for a lock
  20. shower — rain
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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