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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: foot · tear · snap · wind · wave · field

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. snap — to click
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. tear — from crying
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. foot — a measure
  15. wind — moving air
  16. tear — to rip
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. field — for sport

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