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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. kid — to tease
  5. field — farmland
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. object — an aim
  10. content — happy
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — the amount
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. field — a subject
  15. march — music
  16. scale — size or range
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — a thing
  19. march — the month
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. march — the month
  23. kid — child
  24. scale — in music

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