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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. kid — to tease
  3. field — a subject
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. club — for dancing
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. game — wild animals
  10. mine — for digging
  11. club — a group
  12. field — for sport
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. kid — child
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — for a lock
  20. club — for golf
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. game — a match
  24. key — in music

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