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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. march — the month
  3. pitch — completely
  4. march — music
  5. ground — a position
  6. wake — a trail
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. field — farmland
  9. march — the month
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. spell — letters
  12. ground — the earth
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — a short time
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — in sport
  17. field — for sport
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. field — a subject
  20. net — for catching
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. pitch — a sports field

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