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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. rash — hasty
  4. kick — in football
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. net — in sport
  7. field — for sport
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kid — child
  11. net — after costs
  12. last — to go on
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kid — to tease
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. last — finally
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. last — final
  21. net — for catching
  22. rash — a series
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. rash — on the skin

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