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

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. field — a subject
  3. land — to come down
  4. club — for golf
  5. saw — the tool
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. saw — the tool
  8. land — a country
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. land — ground
  11. field — farmland
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. club — for dancing
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. last — final
  17. field — for sport
  18. club — a group

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