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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. field — a subject
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bulb — for light
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. march — music
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. rock — a stone
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. field — for sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. dip — to sink
  13. chest — a box
  14. cue — for pool
  15. bulb — for light
  16. march — the month
  17. cue — a hint
  18. kid — to tease
  19. field — farmland
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. cue — a signal
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. march — the month
  24. rock — music

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