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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. can — to be able to
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. field — for sport
  8. mate — a friend
  9. cold — an illness
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. game — wild animals
  12. can — a tin
  13. field — farmland
  14. mate — to breed
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. toast — bread
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. cold — not warm
  19. can — a tin
  20. mate — a partner
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. game — a match

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