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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. key — in music
  3. field — farmland
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. last — final
  11. field — a subject
  12. squash — the sport
  13. fine — high quality
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitch — completely
  16. key — the most important part
  17. last — to go on
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. last — finally
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. squash — to crush
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. key — for a lock
  24. fan — a supporter

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