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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. cap — a hat
  3. ground — the earth
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. field — farmland
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. kick — in football
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — electric
  12. bat — the animal
  13. current — of water
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. field — for sport
  16. ground — crushed
  17. cap — a lid
  18. field — a subject
  19. cell — a phone
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. ground — a position

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