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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 124 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. rash — hasty
  3. band — a music group
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. mate — to breed
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. plane — a tool
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. mate — a partner
  13. field — farmland
  14. rash — a series
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. mate — a friend
  17. field — for sport
  18. foot — a measure
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. kid — child
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. band — a ring

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