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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. cap — of ice
  4. suit — in cards
  5. suit — to fit
  6. kid — child
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. suit — clothes
  10. cap — a hat
  11. chest — a box
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. cap — a lid
  20. field — a subject
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — to bear
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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