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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. kick — in football
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. cell — a phone
  5. spell — letters
  6. field — for sport
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. current — happening now
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. current — of water
  12. bat — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. field — farmland
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. spell — magic
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. current — electric
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — to bear
  22. spell — a short time
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — a thrill

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