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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. field — farmland
  6. pop — music
  7. track — a song
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. track — a path
  11. track — to keep track
  12. field — a subject
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cap — a hat
  15. field — for sport
  16. pop — soda
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cap — of ice
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. rash — hasty
  23. pop — to visit
  24. rash — a series

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