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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ball — a great time
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. field — farmland
  8. net — for catching
  9. track — a song
  10. net — after costs
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. chest — a box
  13. track — a path
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cell — a phone
  17. track — to keep track
  18. net — in sport
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. chest — of your body
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. field — for sport
  24. ball — a dance

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