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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. can — a tin
  3. field — for sport
  4. club — a group
  5. game — wild animals
  6. deal — to handle
  7. game — a match
  8. wind — moving air
  9. field — farmland
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. can — a tin
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. lean — to bend
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. club — for dancing
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. can — to be able to
  19. lean — thin
  20. field — a subject
  21. club — for golf
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. game — a kind of play

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