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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 124 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. tear — from crying
  4. field — a subject
  5. wake — a trail
  6. field — for sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. club — a group
  11. tear — to rip
  12. field — farmland
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. club — for golf
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — a series
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — a stone
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. club — for dancing

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