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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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Word bank
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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. field — farmland
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. field — a subject
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. can — a tin
  8. game — a match
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. game — wild animals
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. key — for a lock
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. can — to be able to
  18. key — in music
  19. cell — in biology
  20. field — for sport
  21. cell — a phone
  22. can — a tin
  23. key — the most important part
  24. pit — in a race

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