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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 124 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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. drill — a practice
  4. rush — hurry
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. field — farmland
  7. drill — the tool
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. kid — child
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a hat
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. drill — army training
  24. nail — for a hammer

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