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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. hand — in cards
  4. game — a match
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. hand — help
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — to get on
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. suit — in cards
  12. game — wild animals
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mug — a face
  15. mug — to rob
  16. board — a committee
  17. mine — for digging
  18. field — a subject
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. suit — to fit
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. field — for sport
  23. mug — a cup
  24. suit — clothes

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