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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. swing — in golf
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. key — in music
  10. swing — music
  11. chair — a leader
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — goods
  15. key — for a lock
  16. mine — for digging
  17. swing — to play on
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — after costs
  21. key — the most important part
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. net — for catching

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