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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. hand — in cards
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — the cause
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cell — in biology
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. kid — child
  12. field — a subject
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pit — a hole
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. root — of a plant
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pit — in a race
  23. hand — help
  24. cell — a phone

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