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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. rest — a break
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. field — farmland
  6. bear — the animal
  7. cue — a hint
  8. net — in sport
  9. cue — for pool
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. net — for catching
  12. rest — what's left
  13. season — of the year
  14. field — for sport
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. land — to come down
  18. season — in sport
  19. cue — a signal
  20. land — ground
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wind — moving air
  23. land — a country
  24. net — after costs

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