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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. field — a subject
  4. scale — in music
  5. cap — a lid
  6. swing — music
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. swing — to play on
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. field — for sport
  12. scale — size or range
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cap — of ice
  16. swing — in golf
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. land — a country
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. cap — a hat
  21. dip — to sink
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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