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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. wake — a trail
  3. lean — to bend
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. chair — a leader
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. field — farmland
  9. spell — magic
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. spell — letters
  12. field — for sport
  13. lean — thin
  14. kid — child
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. kid — to tease
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. field — a subject
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. pitcher — a jug

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