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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. kid — child
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. land — ground
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. pass — a permit
  7. rush — hurry
  8. scale — in music
  9. kid — to tease
  10. scale — size or range
  11. land — a country
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. swing — to play on
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. swing — in golf
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — farmland
  18. land — to come down
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. swing — 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