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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  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. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. track — a path
  5. wax — to grow
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. cap — a lid
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. field — farmland
  12. march — the month
  13. cap — of ice
  14. kid — child
  15. field — a subject
  16. march — the month
  17. pitch — completely
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cap — a hat
  21. march — music
  22. track — to keep track
  23. track — a song
  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