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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. prune — to trim
  3. current — electric
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. field — for sport
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. field — a subject
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. net — in sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. net — for catching
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. field — farmland
  17. net — after costs
  18. chest — of your body
  19. current — happening now
  20. wound — an injury
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. current — of water
  24. calf — a young animal

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