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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. field — a subject
  5. game — a match
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. bat — the animal
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — in a road
  13. current — electric
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. current — of water
  18. current — happening now
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to click

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