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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. field — farmland
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — an aim
  9. drill — the tool
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. pitch — completely
  14. drill — a practice
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. object — a thing
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. drill — army training
  21. field — a subject
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. field — for sport
  24. row — a line

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