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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 very handy with a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. field — farmland
  3. present — the time now
  4. field — a subject
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. present — a gift
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. shower — rain
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. field — for sport
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. present — there
  13. shower — to wash
  14. capital — a city
  15. rest — what's left
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. capital — money
  19. rest — a break
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rush — hurry
  24. saw — the tool

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