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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. swing — music
  3. mug — a face
  4. face — part of the head
  5. field — for sport
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. net — for catching
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. mug — to rob
  12. face — to point toward
  13. file — a document
  14. net — after costs
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mug — a cup
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. face — to confront
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. net — in sport
  24. mate — a partner

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