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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — for sport
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. foot — a measure
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. field — a subject
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. foot — the bottom

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