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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. field — a subject
  3. hand — help
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — the tool
  6. field — for sport
  7. drill — army training
  8. field — farmland
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. stem — to come from
  11. track — to keep track
  12. shower — to wash
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — of ice
  16. shower — rain
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. track — a song
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. cap — a lid
  23. track — a path
  24. hand — part of the 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