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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. mine — for digging
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. rest — what's left
  6. game — wild animals
  7. field — farmland
  8. chair — a leader
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. drill — the tool
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. drill — army training
  15. pitch — completely
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. rest — what's left
  18. field — a subject
  19. game — a match
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. rest — a break
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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