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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 116 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cap — a lid
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. field — farmland
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. snap — to click
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. field — a subject
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. cap — a hat
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. key — for a lock
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. key — in music
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rush — hurry
  23. key — the most important part
  24. cap — of ice

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