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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. field — a subject
  3. track — a song
  4. stand — to bear
  5. last — finally
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. last — final
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. rule — a law
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rule — government
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. kid — child
  18. track — to keep track
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. track — a path
  21. last — to go on
  22. field — for sport
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. field — farmland

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