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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. wake — a trail
  4. row — a line
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. chest — a box
  8. row — to paddle
  9. present — there
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — completely
  13. drill — army training
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. chest — of your body
  16. drill — the tool
  17. present — a gift
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. field — for sport
  21. present — the time now
  22. chest — of your body
  23. drill — a practice
  24. row — a quarrel

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