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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · net · present · game · field · mug · deal · cap

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. present — there
  3. net — after costs
  4. cap — a lid
  5. game — wild animals
  6. chest — of your body
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. game — a match
  9. cap — a hat
  10. field — farmland
  11. chest — a box
  12. field — for sport
  13. present — the time now
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cap — of ice
  16. field — a subject
  17. mug — a face
  18. net — for catching
  19. mug — to rob
  20. net — in sport
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. mug — a cup
  23. present — a gift
  24. deal — to handle

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