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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. date — the fruit
  3. ball — a great time
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. ball — a dance
  6. rest — what's left
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. rest — what's left
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. snap — to click
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. rest — a break

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