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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. charge — in control
  4. field — farmland
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. net — in sport
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. land — a country
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. game — a match
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. charge — electricity
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. field — a subject
  16. land — to come down
  17. charge — a price
  18. net — after costs
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. field — for sport
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. net — for catching
  23. pitch — completely
  24. land — ground

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