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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. field — a subject
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. field — for sport
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rash — hasty
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. kid — child
  14. bound — tied together
  15. land — to come down
  16. kid — to tease
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. bound — certain
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. field — farmland
  21. rash — a series
  22. land — ground
  23. bound — obliged
  24. land — a country

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