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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — help
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. swing — in golf
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. swing — music
  11. cap — of ice
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. swing — to play on
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bound — obliged
  18. cap — a lid
  19. bound — certain
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. bound — tied together
  23. shower — rain
  24. cap — a hat

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