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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. land — a country
  7. field — farmland
  8. hand — help
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. field — a subject
  12. land — ground
  13. bat — the animal
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. rule — a law
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. land — to come down
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — government
  24. hand — in cards

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