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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 120 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. cue — for pool
  5. squash — to crush
  6. field — for sport
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cue — a hint
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. kid — child
  15. cue — a signal
  16. kid — to tease
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. squash — the sport
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. leaves — to go away

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