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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. field — farmland
  3. fine — all right
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. cap — a hat
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. cap — of ice
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — to handle
  10. kid — to tease
  11. drill — the tool
  12. roll — a list
  13. pop — music
  14. field — for sport
  15. pop — soda
  16. roll — a cake
  17. kid — child
  18. pop — to visit
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. drill — a practice
  23. field — a subject
  24. drill — army training

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