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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. last — final
  3. field — for sport
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wake — a trail
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. last — finally
  10. spring — of water
  11. field — a subject
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bank — of a river
  15. bank — for money
  16. spring — the season
  17. last — to go on
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. chest — a box
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bank — for money
  23. spring — a coil
  24. field — farmland

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