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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rash — hasty
  5. ball — a dance
  6. field — for sport
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. face — to point toward
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. rash — a series
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ball — a great time

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