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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. field — for sport
  3. bark — to shout
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. field — a subject
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. field — farmland
  14. kick — in football
  15. fall — to drop
  16. snap — to click
  17. march — the month
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. march — the month
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. march — music
  23. fall — the season
  24. kick — a thrill

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