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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. wake — a trail
  8. field — for sport
  9. scale — size or range
  10. row — a line
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. land — to come down
  18. scale — in music
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. land — ground
  24. bat — in an idiom

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