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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. scale — size or range
  4. game — a match
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. board — a committee
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. board — to get on
  17. cell — a phone
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. cell — in biology
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. scale — in music
  24. field — farmland

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