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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. cap — a lid
  5. ground — a position
  6. suit — in cards
  7. land — ground
  8. suit — clothes
  9. ground — the earth
  10. cap — of ice
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. shower — rain
  13. land — a country
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. dip — to sink
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. land — to come down
  19. ground — crushed
  20. suit — to fit
  21. cap — a hat
  22. shower — to wash
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. dip — to dunk

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