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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. game — a match
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. stand — to bear
  8. suit — in cards
  9. game — wild animals
  10. saw — the tool
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. suit — to fit
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. row — a line
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. saw — the tool
  19. row — to paddle
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. field — a subject
  22. suit — clothes
  23. hand — in cards
  24. row — a quarrel

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