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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. field — a subject
  6. land — ground
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. rest — what's left
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — certain
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. land — to come down
  19. wake — a trail
  20. land — a country
  21. rest — a break
  22. field — for sport
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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