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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. charge — in control
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. field — farmland
  9. kid — child
  10. ball — a dance
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. charge — electricity
  15. file — a line of people
  16. charge — a price
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. file — a tool
  21. kid — to tease
  22. file — a document
  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