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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. spell — letters
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. field — for sport
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mark — a grade
  9. field — a subject
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. present — a gift
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spell — a short time
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. spell — magic
  17. present — the time now
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. present — there
  20. foot — a measure
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bark — to shout
  24. mark — a trace

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