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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. roll — a list
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. spring — of water
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cap — of ice
  11. object — to protest
  12. spring — a coil
  13. roll — a cake
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. object — an aim
  16. cap — a hat
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. stand — to bear
  19. spring — the season
  20. ground — the earth
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. object — a thing
  23. field — a subject
  24. cap — a lid

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