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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. field — for sport
  5. mate — to breed
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. ball — a dance
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. field — a subject
  14. mate — a friend
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. field — farmland
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cold — an illness

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