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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. row — to paddle
  6. march — the month
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. kid — to tease
  9. field — for sport
  10. wound — an injury
  11. march — the month
  12. net — for catching
  13. season — of the year
  14. net — after costs
  15. charge — electricity
  16. charge — a price
  17. charge — in control
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. season — in sport
  20. row — a line
  21. march — music
  22. kid — child
  23. wound — an injury
  24. field — farmland

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