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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. date — the fruit
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. field — for sport
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. net — after costs
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. ground — crushed
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. net — in sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. hand — help
  18. ground — a position
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. field — a subject
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. ground — the earth
  24. arm — part of the body

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