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

Word bank: present · bay · chest · fine · wind · saw · field · rest

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. saw — the tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. fine — all right
  6. present — a gift
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. field — farmland
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rest — what's left
  18. field — for sport
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. fine — high quality
  21. chest — a box
  22. present — the time now
  23. field — a subject
  24. fine — a penalty

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