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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. field — for sport
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mug — to rob
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fine — all right
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. mug — a cup
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. field — farmland
  13. race — a contest
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. game — wild animals
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. game — a match
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. fine — high quality
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. field — a subject

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