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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 120 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. field — farmland
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. field — for sport
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. bulb — for light
  14. kid — child
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. field — a subject
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bulb — for light
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. row — a line
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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