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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 120 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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. mine — for digging
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. kid — to tease
  9. shower — rain
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. shower — to wash
  18. kid — child
  19. field — a subject
  20. stand — to bear
  21. suit — clothes
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. suit — to fit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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