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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. row — a line
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — a trace
  6. field — farmland
  7. land — to come down
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. squash — to crush
  12. field — for sport
  13. cue — for pool
  14. squash — the sport
  15. cue — a signal
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cue — a hint
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. land — a country
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. row — to paddle
  24. land — ground

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