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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wind — moving air
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. field — a subject
  5. mate — to breed
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. last — final
  15. last — to go on
  16. field — for sport
  17. mate — a partner
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. pass — a permit
  21. mate — a friend
  22. last — finally
  23. kid — child
  24. wind — to turn a key

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