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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. pit — in a race
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kid — to tease
  6. firm — steady
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. field — for sport
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. sharp — clever
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kid — child
  15. firm — a company
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. field — a subject
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — a match
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. field — farmland

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