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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. fall — to drop
  5. board — a committee
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — boats
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. field — a subject
  10. board — to get on
  11. fall — the season
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. net — after costs
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. net — in sport
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spring — a coil
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. net — for catching

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