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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. season — of the year
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. fork — in a road
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. bat — the animal
  9. field — a subject
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. board — a committee
  14. mark — a grade
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. net — for catching
  17. mark — a trace
  18. board — to get on
  19. field — for sport
  20. land — ground
  21. season — in sport
  22. land — a country
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. field — farmland

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