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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pass — a permit
  3. field — for sport
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. shower — rain
  8. field — farmland
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. root — the cause
  13. toast — bread
  14. root — of a word
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. root — of a plant
  21. shower — to wash
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. chest — a box
  24. kid — to tease

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