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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. field — farmland
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. field — for sport
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pitch — completely
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. pound — a weight
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — child
  20. deal — to handle
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pound — to hit hard

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