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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — in control
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. track — to keep track
  8. file — a line of people
  9. kid — child
  10. dip — to sink
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. track — a song
  14. file — a document
  15. capital — a city
  16. charge — a price
  17. field — farmland
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. capital — money
  20. toast — bread
  21. track — a path
  22. file — a tool
  23. kid — to tease
  24. capital — a big letter

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