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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. mark — a trace
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. saw — the tool
  9. mark — a grade
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. snap — to click
  13. saw — the tool
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. field — farmland
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pop — to visit
  19. field — a subject
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. pop — music
  22. pop — soda
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. field — for sport

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