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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. row — a line
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. field — for sport
  5. bass — the fish
  6. field — farmland
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bass — low music
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. rest — what's left
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. mug — to rob
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. ground — the earth
  16. field — a subject
  17. rest — what's left
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. rest — a break
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. mug — a cup
  23. row — to paddle
  24. ground — a position

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