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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. field — a subject
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. roll — a list
  11. board — to get on
  12. kid — child
  13. field — for sport
  14. swing — in golf
  15. date — the fruit
  16. roll — a cake
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. kid — to tease
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. swing — to play on
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. swing — music
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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