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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. root — of a word
  3. sharp — clever
  4. kid — child
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. rash — hasty
  9. fine — high quality
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. fine — all right
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. rash — a series
  16. kid — to tease
  17. field — for sport
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. field — farmland
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. field — a subject
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — the cause

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