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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  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. rush — a thrill
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. pound — a weight
  6. file — a tool
  7. field — for sport
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rash — a series
  14. wake — a trail
  15. can — a tin
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. file — a document
  20. rash — hasty
  21. can — to be able to
  22. file — a line of people
  23. can — a tin
  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