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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. field — a subject
  5. rock — a stone
  6. roll — a list
  7. rest — what's left
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. present — the time now
  11. saw — the tool
  12. present — there
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mark — a grade
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a cake
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. field — farmland
  19. rest — a break
  20. game — a match
  21. field — for sport
  22. present — a gift
  23. rock — music
  24. mark — a trace

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