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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 116 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. field — for sport
  3. prune — to trim
  4. net — in sport
  5. object — to protest
  6. mine — for digging
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. prune — to trim
  9. net — for catching
  10. field — farmland
  11. object — an aim
  12. field — a subject
  13. net — after costs
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. object — a thing
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — completely
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. patient — a sick person

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