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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 116 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. field — farmland
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. field — a subject
  5. game — a match
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. field — for sport
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pound — a weight
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. mark — a trace

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