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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. mug — a face
  4. season — of the year
  5. net — for catching
  6. field — farmland
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. season — in sport
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. game — a match
  13. bass — low music
  14. net — after costs
  15. fall — the season
  16. branch — a division
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. game — wild animals
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. mug — a cup
  22. mug — to rob
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — the instrument

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