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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: field · staff · foot · wake · net · rest · hide · tear

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. 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. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. net — for catching
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. field — a subject
  6. rest — what's left
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. wake — a trail
  13. net — after costs
  14. rest — a break
  15. field — farmland
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rest — what's left
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. staff — employees
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. net — in sport
  23. tear — from crying
  24. 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