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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 120 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mark — a trace
  4. field — farmland
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. mug — to rob
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. field — for sport
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. shower — to wash
  12. swing — music
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. swing — to play on
  15. rush — hurry
  16. swing — in golf
  17. field — a subject
  18. wake — a trail
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mug — a face
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. shower — rain
  24. mug — a cup

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