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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. net — in sport
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. cell — a phone
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. present — there
  8. field — farmland
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. ground — a position
  13. net — for catching
  14. present — a gift
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. kid — to tease
  17. field — for sport
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. present — the time now
  21. ground — crushed
  22. field — a subject
  23. net — after costs
  24. ground — the earth

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