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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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 — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pop — to visit
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. face — to point toward
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. track — a song
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. face — part of the head
  10. track — to keep track
  11. field — for sport
  12. kid — child
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pop — music
  16. track — a path
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. face — to confront
  19. stock — goods
  20. pop — soda
  21. stock — shares
  22. mine — for digging
  23. field — a subject
  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