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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. field — a subject
  3. spell — magic
  4. shower — rain
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. spell — letters
  7. pop — music
  8. field — for sport
  9. firm — steady
  10. fine — high quality
  11. chest — of your body
  12. field — farmland
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. firm — a company
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — to visit
  19. spell — a short time
  20. shower — to wash
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. firm — decided
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. chest — a box

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