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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. season — of the year
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. pitch — completely
  7. season — in sport
  8. snap — to click
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. field — a subject
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. field — for sport
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. drill — the tool
  18. dip — to sink
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. drill — army training
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. drill — a practice

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