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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — to be able to
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. shower — rain
  6. last — to go on
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — a partner
  10. hand — in cards
  11. last — finally
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. shower — to wash
  17. mate — to breed
  18. last — final
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. can — a tin
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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