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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. pitch — completely
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. field — farmland
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. squash — the sport
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. field — a subject
  18. game — wild animals
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. squash — to crush
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. game — a match
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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