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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. ground — crushed
  5. cue — a hint
  6. ground — a position
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. object — an aim
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. field — for sport
  11. bat — the animal
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — for pool
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. object — to protest
  21. object — a thing
  22. field — farmland
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. ground — the earth

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