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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 116 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. swing — to play on
  5. field — farmland
  6. game — wild animals
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pit — in a race
  9. field — a subject
  10. game — a match
  11. ball — a dance
  12. plane — a tool
  13. pit — a hole
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. swing — music
  16. field — for sport
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. saw — the tool
  23. swing — in golf
  24. plane — an aircraft

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