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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — a subject
  4. mug — a face
  5. cap — a lid
  6. drill — the tool
  7. current — electric
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — of ice
  10. mark — a grade
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. field — for sport
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. drill — a practice
  15. stand — to bear
  16. mark — a trace
  17. current — happening now
  18. mug — to rob
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. squash — to crush
  22. current — of water
  23. mug — a cup
  24. drill — army training

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