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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 116 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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. rash — a series
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — a match
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. field — farmland
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — after costs
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. key — for a lock
  17. rash — hasty
  18. cap — of ice
  19. field — for sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. game — wild animals
  23. key — the most important part
  24. key — in music

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