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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. field — a subject
  6. rash — a series
  7. field — for sport
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. degree — temperature
  11. kid — to tease
  12. foot — a measure
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. stand — to bear
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. rash — hasty
  21. field — farmland
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. degree — from a university

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