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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. kid — child
  3. stock — shares
  4. drill — a practice
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. drill — the tool
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. drill — army training
  13. field — farmland
  14. tube — the underground
  15. rule — government
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. field — for sport
  18. tube — a container
  19. wake — a trail
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. stock — goods
  22. rule — a law
  23. dip — to sink
  24. stock — a soup base

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