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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. last — final
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. field — a subject
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. field — for sport
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. mark — a grade
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. foot — a measure
  17. mark — a trace
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. last — to go on
  21. kid — to tease
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. last — finally
  24. row — a line

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