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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. field — for sport
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. game — wild animals
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — all right
  8. spring — a coil
  9. field — farmland
  10. spring — the season
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. present — a gift
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bear — the animal
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. present — the time now
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. game — a match
  22. field — a subject
  23. spring — of water
  24. present — there

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