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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. field — for sport
  4. shower — rain
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. spring — the season
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. field — farmland
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. squash — the sport
  18. shower — to wash
  19. squash — to crush
  20. spring — of water
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. kick — a thrill

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