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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mug — to rob
  4. stand — to bear
  5. field — for sport
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. clip — a video
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. roll — a list
  13. pound — a weight
  14. roll — a cake
  15. clip — for paper
  16. field — a subject
  17. clip — to cut
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. mug — a cup
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. field — farmland
  24. stand — on your feet

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