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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. fine — all right
  4. rash — hasty
  5. field — farmland
  6. stand — to bear
  7. last — to go on
  8. land — ground
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. shower — rain
  12. land — to come down
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. field — for sport
  17. land — a country
  18. rash — a series
  19. sharp — clever
  20. last — final
  21. shower — to wash
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. last — finally
  24. fine — high quality

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