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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 116 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. field — farmland
  6. bound — obliged
  7. suit — to fit
  8. bat — the animal
  9. field — a subject
  10. key — the most important part
  11. cap — a hat
  12. land — ground
  13. pitch — completely
  14. suit — clothes
  15. suit — in cards
  16. cap — of ice
  17. field — for sport
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. bound — tied together
  21. land — to come down
  22. bound — certain
  23. key — in music
  24. key — for a lock

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