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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 have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. field — a subject
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. foot — a measure
  6. spring — of water
  7. wake — a trail
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — a series
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. capital — a city
  14. field — farmland
  15. spring — the season
  16. capital — money
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. field — for sport

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