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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. fall — to drop
  4. field — for sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bat — the animal
  8. board — to get on
  9. net — for catching
  10. board — a committee
  11. fall — to drop
  12. field — a subject
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. fall — the season
  15. field — farmland
  16. net — in sport
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bowl — to roll

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