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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. sharp — clever
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. pop — soda
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. file — a line of people
  10. drill — army training
  11. kid — child
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. drill — a practice
  17. pop — to visit
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. drill — the tool
  23. field — farmland
  24. sharp — exactly

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