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

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. field — a subject
  3. net — in sport
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. field — farmland
  6. rush — hurry
  7. net — after costs
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. net — for catching
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. field — for sport
  18. mine — for digging

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