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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. field — farmland
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. lean — to bend
  8. fall — to drop
  9. lean — thin
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. field — for sport
  12. fall — to drop
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. fall — the season
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. nail — for a hammer

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