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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. field — for sport
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. field — farmland
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. pit — a hole
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. drill — army training
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. drill — the tool
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. pit — in a race
  16. cell — in biology
  17. prune — to trim
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. drill — a practice
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. kick — in football
  22. field — a subject
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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