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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitch — completely
  10. branch — a division
  11. craft — boats
  12. land — ground
  13. chest — a box
  14. field — for sport
  15. craft — a skill
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. land — to come down
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. field — a subject
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. field — farmland

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