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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. field — for sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cap — a hat
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. chest — of your body
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. cap — of ice
  11. field — farmland
  12. squash — the sport
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. chest — a box
  17. bark — to shout
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bear — the animal
  22. rash — a series
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. field — a subject

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