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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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Word bank
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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: wake · field · row · chest · wound · leaves · rest · sharp

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. field — farmland
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. row — to paddle
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. field — a subject
  8. chest — a box
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. chest — of your body
  11. row — a line
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. wound — an injury
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. rest — a break
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — for sport
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. rest — what's left
  24. sharp — clever

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