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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rush — hurry
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. ball — a great time
  6. kid — child
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. ball — a dance
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. degree — an amount
  12. kid — to tease
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. degree — temperature
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. field — for sport
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. field — a subject
  23. chair — a leader
  24. degree — from a university

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