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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — clever
  4. kid — child
  5. field — for sport
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. fall — the season
  8. field — a subject
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. charge — a price
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fall — to drop
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. charge — electricity
  16. cap — of ice
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cap — a lid
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. fine — high quality
  22. charge — in control
  23. field — farmland
  24. cap — a hat

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