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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. field — farmland
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rest — what's left
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. field — a subject
  10. rock — a stone
  11. bear — the animal
  12. field — for sport
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rock — music
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. rest — a break
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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