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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. field — for sport
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. field — a subject
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cold — an illness
  20. field — farmland
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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