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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. present — a gift
  5. drill — army training
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — in sport
  10. field — for sport
  11. key — in music
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. key — for a lock
  14. field — a subject
  15. snap — to click
  16. drill — the tool
  17. key — the most important part
  18. drill — a practice
  19. present — the time now
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. field — farmland
  22. mine — for digging
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. present — there

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