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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. ground — the earth
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. game — wild animals
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. field — farmland
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. row — a line
  14. row — to paddle
  15. game — a match
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. ground — a position
  18. stand — to bear
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. wave — with your hand

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