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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wind — moving air
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. field — for sport
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. perch — the fish
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. snap — to click
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. pitch — completely

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