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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. club — a group
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. cap — a hat
  5. staff — employees
  6. bore — to tire
  7. cap — of ice
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. cap — a lid
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — for golf
  12. mark — a trace
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. snap — to click
  16. kid — child
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to drill
  20. mark — a grade
  21. staff — employees
  22. field — for sport
  23. staff — a stick
  24. field — farmland

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