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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. ground — the earth
  4. field — farmland
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. field — for sport
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. sharp — clever
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cell — a phone
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. ground — a position
  18. cell — in biology
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. field — a subject
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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