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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 124 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. rest — what's left
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mark — a grade
  6. field — for sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. field — farmland
  10. spell — letters
  11. rest — a break
  12. pitch — completely
  13. tube — a container
  14. fall — the season
  15. tube — the underground
  16. mark — a trace
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. fall — to drop
  19. ground — the earth
  20. field — a subject
  21. spell — magic
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — crushed
  24. tube — in a tire

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