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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 120 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. saw — the tool
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — after costs
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. saw — the tool
  7. rash — a series
  8. pit — a hole
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. sharp — clever
  11. rash — hasty
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. field — for sport
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. field — a subject
  17. net — in sport
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bat — the animal
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. pit — in a race
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bat — for baseball

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