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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. field — a subject
  3. last — final
  4. rest — what's left
  5. hand — help
  6. field — for sport
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. rest — what's left
  15. last — to go on
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. field — farmland
  21. last — finally
  22. rest — a break
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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