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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · field · cell · pit · cue · kid

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. pit — a hole
  8. field — for sport
  9. cue — a signal
  10. kid — child
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. pit — in a race
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cell — a phone
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cue — for pool
  18. fall — to drop

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