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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. field — a subject
  3. spell — letters
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mark — a trace
  6. ball — a dance
  7. firm — a company
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. firm — steady
  12. field — farmland
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. stand — to bear
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. field — for sport
  19. firm — decided
  20. mark — a grade
  21. plane — a tool
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. stand — for spectators

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