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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cold — an illness
  8. game — wild animals
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. game — a match
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. foot — a measure
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. rash — a series
  18. cold — not warm
  19. sharp — clever
  20. field — farmland
  21. rash — hasty
  22. field — for sport
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. mouse — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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