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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. scale — size or range
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. field — farmland
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. object — to protest
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. field — a subject
  9. object — an aim
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. face — to confront
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — of the year
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. game — a match
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. face — part of the head
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. face — to point toward
  20. scale — in music
  21. game — wild animals
  22. object — a thing
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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