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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pit — in a race
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rush — hurry
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. can — a tin
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — music
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. pop — soda
  19. field — a subject
  20. mine — for digging
  21. can — a tin
  22. field — farmland
  23. pit — a hole
  24. can — to be able to

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