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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cell — in biology
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. roll — a cake
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. board — to get on
  8. roll — a list
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. board — a committee
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — a phone
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. kick — in football
  24. board — a flat piece

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