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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 124 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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. last — finally
  3. prune — to trim
  4. stock — goods
  5. last — final
  6. prune — to trim
  7. last — to go on
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. spell — letters
  11. field — a subject
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. spell — magic
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. field — farmland
  18. spell — a short time
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. field — for sport
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. stock — shares

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