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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. pop — music
  3. firm — steady
  4. cold — an illness
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. field — a subject
  7. pop — soda
  8. rash — a series
  9. hand — in cards
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. hand — help
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. rash — hasty
  15. cue — for pool
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cue — a signal
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cold — not warm
  20. firm — a company
  21. field — farmland
  22. cue — a hint
  23. firm — decided
  24. rash — on the skin

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