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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. spell — magic
  4. field — farmland
  5. pass — a permit
  6. spell — letters
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. spell — a short time
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. field — for sport
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — a position
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. fall — to drop

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