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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. can — to be able to
  3. cue — a signal
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. cue — a hint
  6. can — a tin
  7. cap — a lid
  8. field — a subject
  9. kid — child
  10. scale — size or range
  11. kid — to tease
  12. scale — in music
  13. field — for sport
  14. cap — of ice
  15. mark — a grade
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. degree — from a university
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cap — a hat
  21. can — a tin
  22. cue — for pool
  23. degree — temperature
  24. mark — a trace

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