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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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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: ground · wound · field · cap · wave · rock · chest · present

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — music
  6. ground — a position
  7. present — a gift
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. field — for sport
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cap — a hat
  14. field — farmland
  15. chest — a box
  16. cap — a lid
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ground — crushed
  20. present — the time now
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. present — there
  24. field — a subject

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