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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 116 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cue — a hint
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. rush — hurry
  5. field — farmland
  6. rest — what's left
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rest — a break
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rest — what's left
  16. saw — the tool
  17. field — a subject
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. cue — for pool
  22. mine — for digging
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. cue — a signal

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