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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a hole
  4. rush — hurry
  5. kid — to tease
  6. field — a subject
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kid — child
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pop — soda
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pop — music
  13. wound — an injury
  14. dip — to sink
  15. pop — to visit
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. perch — the fish
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. field — for sport
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. field — farmland
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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