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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. land — to come down
  3. field — a subject
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. field — farmland
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. land — ground
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. swing — music
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. bat — the animal
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. land — a country
  17. fall — to drop
  18. swing — to play on
  19. mug — a cup
  20. mug — to rob
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. mug — a face
  23. swing — in golf
  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