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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. key — for a lock
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. key — the most important part
  7. kid — to tease
  8. press — to push
  9. cell — in biology
  10. field — for sport
  11. press — newspapers
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. press — a publisher
  14. key — in music
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. file — a document
  20. cell — a phone
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. field — farmland
  24. kid — child

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