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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. field — farmland
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. tube — a container
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. field — a subject
  16. rush — hurry
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. row — a line
  21. field — for sport
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. rush — a thrill

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