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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. sharp — clever
  3. season — in sport
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rest — what's left
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. field — a subject
  11. rest — what's left
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. field — for sport
  15. deal — to handle
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. row — to paddle
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — a line
  23. rest — a break
  24. wound — an injury

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