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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. row — to paddle
  3. field — for sport
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. club — for dancing
  10. field — farmland
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rest — a break
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. rest — what's left
  17. club — a group
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. mate — a friend
  20. club — for golf
  21. row — a line
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. rest — what's left
  24. field — a subject

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