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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. field — farmland
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. spring — of water
  5. board — to get on
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. face — part of the head
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. spring — a coil
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. board — a committee
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. field — a subject
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. spring — the season
  23. face — to confront
  24. field — for sport

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