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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. field — a subject
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. spell — letters
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. drill — a practice
  9. field — for sport
  10. spell — magic
  11. shower — rain
  12. spell — a short time
  13. foot — a measure
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. pitch — completely
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. drill — army training
  23. pitch — a sports field
  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