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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. mine — for digging
  4. field — a subject
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. rash — hasty
  9. field — farmland
  10. snap — to click
  11. hand — in cards
  12. fine — all right
  13. cell — a phone
  14. rash — a series
  15. field — for sport
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. hand — help
  20. fine — high quality
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. rash — on the skin

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