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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. charge — in control
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. root — of a plant
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. race — the arms race
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. drill — the tool
  12. charge — electricity
  13. race — a contest
  14. root — of a word
  15. drill — a practice
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. root — the cause
  21. field — a subject
  22. drill — army training
  23. charge — a price
  24. race — humankind

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