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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. field — a subject
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cell — a phone
  7. fall — to drop
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. hand — in cards
  10. field — for sport
  11. fall — to drop
  12. net — for catching
  13. field — farmland
  14. march — the month
  15. cell — in biology
  16. fall — the season
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. march — music
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — a grade
  24. march — the month

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