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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. field — a subject
  4. last — final
  5. field — for sport
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. net — after costs
  8. last — to go on
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. net — in sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. suit — to fit
  13. squash — the sport
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. shower — rain
  18. squash — to crush
  19. suit — clothes
  20. suit — in cards
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. pound — a weight
  23. shower — to wash
  24. last — finally

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