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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. net — for catching
  3. field — a subject
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. net — in sport
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. field — for sport
  9. can — to be able to
  10. bat — the animal
  11. squash — the sport
  12. can — a tin
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. net — after costs
  15. squash — to crush
  16. track — to keep track
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. can — a tin
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. track — a song
  23. drill — a practice
  24. track — a path

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