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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. scale — in music
  3. shower — rain
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. field — a subject
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. kid — to tease
  11. spell — magic
  12. field — farmland
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — a short time
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. shower — to wash
  18. kid — child
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. scale — size or range
  24. safe — out of danger

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