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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. file — a document
  3. field — a subject
  4. pop — to visit
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. dip — to sink
  9. pop — music
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. ball — a great time
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. pop — soda
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. field — for sport
  20. file — a line of people
  21. net — after costs
  22. file — a tool
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. ball — a dance

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