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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bear — the animal
  3. track — a song
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. track — to keep track
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. spring — of water
  10. field — for sport
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. track — a path
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. field — a subject
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — the underground
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bear — the 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