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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. firm — steady
  4. track — a path
  5. track — a song
  6. bat — the animal
  7. charge — electricity
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. firm — a company
  10. charge — a price
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. spell — letters
  13. field — for sport
  14. kid — to tease
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — magic
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. track — to keep track
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. firm — decided
  22. charge — in control
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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