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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. kid — to tease
  3. field — for sport
  4. suit — clothes
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. press — newspapers
  7. rash — a series
  8. game — a match
  9. suit — in cards
  10. field — a subject
  11. hand — in cards
  12. field — farmland
  13. game — wild animals
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — the cause
  17. rash — hasty
  18. press — to push
  19. suit — to fit
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. hand — help
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. press — a publisher
  24. kid — child

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