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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. club — for dancing
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. fall — the season
  8. land — to come down
  9. scale — in music
  10. club — a group
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. land — ground
  15. pit — in a race
  16. club — for golf
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. field — for sport
  21. land — a country
  22. scale — size or range
  23. pit — a hole
  24. cell — in biology

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