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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. bat — the animal
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. board — a committee
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. foot — a measure
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. field — farmland
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bass — low music
  17. board — to get on
  18. field — for sport
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. bass — the fish
  22. field — a subject
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. bass — the instrument

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