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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mark — a trace
  4. field — a subject
  5. rush — hurry
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. pitch — completely
  12. field — farmland
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. snap — to click
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a grade
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. field — for sport
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a tree

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