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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. field — a subject
  3. game — wild animals
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. hand — in cards
  6. scale — in music
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. field — for sport
  11. scale — size or range
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. hand — help
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. mark — a trace
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. mark — a grade
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. field — farmland
  24. game — a match

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