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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. cap — a hat
  6. suit — in cards
  7. field — farmland
  8. stand — to bear
  9. suit — clothes
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cap — of ice
  12. suit — to fit
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wound — an injury
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. chest — a box
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. field — a subject
  24. chest — of your body

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