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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. lean — to bend
  3. net — for catching
  4. wound — an injury
  5. net — in sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mug — to rob
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mug — a cup
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. lean — thin
  16. mug — a face
  17. bore — to tire
  18. field — a subject
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bark — to shout
  21. net — after costs
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. field — for sport
  24. bark — of a tree

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