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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — a stone
  4. file — a tool
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. field — a subject
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. lean — thin
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. file — a document
  15. pound — a weight
  16. field — for sport
  17. wake — a trail
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. file — a line of people
  22. rock — music
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bowl — to roll

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