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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. drill — army training
  6. wake — a trail
  7. kid — child
  8. object — an aim
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. scale — size or range
  15. object — to protest
  16. scale — in music
  17. kid — to tease
  18. object — a thing
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. drill — the tool
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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