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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. land — ground
  4. net — for catching
  5. pitch — completely
  6. face — part of the head
  7. squash — the sport
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. squash — to crush
  12. face — to confront
  13. field — a subject
  14. net — in sport
  15. face — to point toward
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — a tool
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — for sport
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. land — a country
  22. net — after costs
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. land — to come down

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