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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. suit — clothes
  3. pitch — completely
  4. suit — to fit
  5. squash — to crush
  6. suit — in cards
  7. field — a subject
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. net — after costs
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. field — farmland
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. spring — of water
  16. kid — to tease
  17. spring — the season
  18. ball — a great time
  19. kid — child
  20. spring — a coil
  21. field — for sport
  22. ball — a dance
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — the vegetable

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