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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. cue — a hint
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. season — in sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. club — for golf
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. season — of the year
  11. sharp — clever
  12. stem — to come from
  13. field — for sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. club — a group
  19. net — for catching
  20. club — for dancing
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cue — for pool
  23. field — farmland
  24. cue — a signal

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