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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. field — farmland
  3. snap — to click
  4. can — a tin
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. court — for sport
  7. drill — army training
  8. court — of law
  9. drill — the tool
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bass — low music
  12. drill — a practice
  13. can — to be able to
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. field — a subject
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. cell — a phone
  19. can — a tin
  20. cell — in biology
  21. court — of a king
  22. field — for sport
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bass — the fish

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