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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. mark — a grade
  3. field — for sport
  4. mark — a trace
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. cell — in biology
  7. stock — shares
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. field — a subject
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. stock — goods
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. field — farmland
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. row — a line
  21. cell — a phone
  22. row — to paddle
  23. snap — to click
  24. arm — part of the 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