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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. snap — to click
  3. fall — to drop
  4. track — a path
  5. bear — the animal
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. track — a song
  13. lie — to recline
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. field — for sport
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. track — to keep track
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. field — a subject
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bear — the animal

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