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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. firm — a company
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. pop — soda
  5. field — a subject
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pop — music
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — certain
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. field — farmland
  14. pitch — completely
  15. cold — not warm
  16. foot — a measure
  17. bound — tied together
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pop — to visit
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. field — for sport
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. firm — decided
  24. firm — steady

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