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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 120 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pass — a permit
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. net — in sport
  10. mate — a friend
  11. net — after costs
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. kid — child
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. saw — the tool
  17. kid — to tease
  18. dip — to sink
  19. net — for catching
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. field — farmland
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. saw — the tool

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