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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. field — a subject
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. shower — to wash
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. field — farmland
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. kid — to tease
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. field — for sport
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. kid — child
  24. racket — a loud noise

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