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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. mate — a partner
  5. field — a subject
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — there
  8. mate — a friend
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. tear — to rip
  11. mug — a face
  12. mate — to breed
  13. present — a gift
  14. snap — to click
  15. tear — from crying
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. mug — a cup
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mug — to rob

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