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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. field — for sport
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. roll — a list
  8. staff — employees
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. staff — a stick
  12. cap — a hat
  13. drill — the tool
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. drill — army training
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. drill — a practice
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. staff — employees
  24. cap — a lid

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