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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. scale — size or range
  7. tube — a container
  8. court — of law
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. court — of a king
  11. file — a document
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. file — a tool
  17. court — for sport
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. tube — the underground
  20. file — a line of people
  21. scale — in music
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. field — farmland

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