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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. key — for a lock
  3. field — a subject
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. hand — help
  6. rock — a stone
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. rock — music
  10. field — farmland
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bass — low music
  13. key — the most important part
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bass — the fish
  17. key — in music
  18. field — for sport

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