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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. land — ground
  5. rash — a series
  6. field — for sport
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — completely
  11. land — a country
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mug — a cup
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mug — to rob
  19. wind — moving air
  20. land — to come down
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. dip — to sink
  23. mug — a face
  24. rash — hasty

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