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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. field — farmland
  3. wake — a trail
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. mug — a cup
  7. game — a match
  8. pound — a weight
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. mug — a face
  13. mug — to rob
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. field — a subject
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. fine — all right
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. fine — high quality
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. field — for sport

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