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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. game — wild animals
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. field — a subject
  10. board — to get on
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — in music
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. scale — size or range
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — a committee
  22. stem — to come from
  23. game — a match
  24. field — farmland

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