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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mate — a friend
  5. hand — help
  6. mate — to breed
  7. ball — a dance
  8. field — for sport
  9. hand — in cards
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. march — music
  12. ball — a great time
  13. field — a subject
  14. mark — a grade
  15. march — the month
  16. mate — a partner
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. march — the month
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. mark — a trace
  24. ball — a round shape

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