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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. present — the time now
  3. mug — a cup
  4. drill — a practice
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — there
  7. mug — a face
  8. field — farmland
  9. rule — a law
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rule — government
  12. swing — in golf
  13. drill — army training
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. field — a subject
  16. swing — to play on
  17. scale — in music
  18. kid — child
  19. drill — the tool
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. scale — size or range
  22. swing — music
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. mug — to rob

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