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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. field — farmland
  3. cell — a phone
  4. field — a subject
  5. wake — a trail
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. spring — of water
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. field — for sport
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. spring — the season
  19. march — the month
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. cell — in biology

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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