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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — for sport
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. net — after costs
  9. field — farmland
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bank — of a river
  15. pitch — completely
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — for money
  18. net — for catching
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. net — in 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