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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. land — a country
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bound — obliged
  7. field — farmland
  8. bound — certain
  9. bear — the animal
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bear — the animal
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. shower — rain
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pitch — a sports field

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