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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pitch — completely
  3. field — for sport
  4. rule — government
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rule — a law
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cell — in biology
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. swing — to play on
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. field — a subject
  20. swing — music
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. field — farmland
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. swing — in golf

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