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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. row — to paddle
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. field — a subject
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. field — for sport
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. fork — in a road
  17. scale — in music
  18. field — farmland
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. row — a line
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. kid — to tease
  24. leaves — lets stay

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