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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pit — a hole
  3. foot — a measure
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. field — farmland
  6. ball — a great time
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. ball — a dance
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — a tool
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. spring — a coil
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. pit — in a race
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. ball — a round shape

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