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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. fall — the season
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. field — a subject
  7. scale — size or range
  8. bear — the animal
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wake — a trail
  13. scale — in music
  14. fall — to drop
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. field — farmland
  17. mark — a trace
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. mark — a grade
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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