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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. season — of the year
  3. field — for sport
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. kid — child
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. field — a subject
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. pound — a weight
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. net — in sport
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. field — farmland
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. net — after costs

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