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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cell — in biology
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. file — a tool
  6. cell — a phone
  7. field — for sport
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. field — a subject
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. file — a document
  15. cap — a lid
  16. field — farmland
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bat — the animal
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. cap — a hat
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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