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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. key — for a lock
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. dip — to sink
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. charge — electricity
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. key — in music
  10. field — farmland
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. key — the most important part
  13. face — to confront
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. charge — a price
  16. game — a match
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. field — a subject
  19. game — wild animals
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. face — part of the head
  23. charge — in control
  24. face — to point toward

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