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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. foot — a measure
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. fine — high quality
  5. swing — to play on
  6. fine — all right
  7. net — after costs
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. field — for sport
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bat — the animal
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. field — a subject
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — in golf
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. cell — a phone
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — in sport

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