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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. lean — to bend
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. present — there
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. field — farmland
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. last — finally
  11. present — the time now
  12. hand — help
  13. spell — a short time
  14. hand — in cards
  15. spell — letters
  16. last — final
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — thin
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. last — to go on
  21. spell — magic
  22. field — for sport
  23. present — a gift
  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