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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. land — ground
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. rest — a break
  7. land — to come down
  8. field — farmland
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. last — final
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — the underground
  14. land — a country
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. last — finally
  17. field — for sport
  18. last — to go on
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. rest — what's left
  22. hand — help
  23. rest — what's left
  24. tube — in a tire

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