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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. field — farmland
  3. net — after costs
  4. field — for sport
  5. roll — a cake
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. field — a subject
  8. present — there
  9. spell — a short time
  10. net — for catching
  11. present — a gift
  12. cue — a signal
  13. object — a thing
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. net — in sport
  16. object — to protest
  17. present — the time now
  18. spell — letters
  19. object — an aim
  20. cue — for pool
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a list
  23. cue — a hint
  24. spell — magic

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