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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. net — after costs
  3. ground — crushed
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. shower — rain
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. field — for sport
  8. cap — a hat
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. ground — the earth
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. cap — a lid
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. net — for catching
  17. ground — a position
  18. field — farmland
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cap — of ice
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pass — a permit
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. net — in sport

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