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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. chest — a box
  3. field — a subject
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — all right
  6. bass — low music
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. kid — to tease
  9. root — of a word
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mug — a face
  13. field — for sport
  14. fine — high quality
  15. chest — of your body
  16. root — of a plant
  17. kid — child
  18. root — the cause
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. field — farmland
  21. stand — to bear
  22. bass — the fish
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mug — to rob

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