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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. rest — a break
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. field — farmland
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. row — a line
  7. bound — obliged
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. bound — certain
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bound — tied together
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bark — to shout
  17. stem — to come from
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. field — for sport
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. wake — a trail
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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