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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mark — a trace
  5. staff — a stick
  6. wind — moving air
  7. charge — in control
  8. staff — employees
  9. charge — electricity
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. field — a subject
  12. game — a match
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. field — for sport
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. staff — employees
  18. charge — a price
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. season — in sport
  23. game — wild animals
  24. field — farmland

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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