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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. net — in sport
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. net — after costs
  5. mark — a trace
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — for golf
  8. field — a subject
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. wind — moving air
  11. net — for catching
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mark — a grade
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. field — farmland
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. club — a group
  18. ruler — for measuring

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