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

Word bank: field · kid · game · chair · fork · rest · dip · scale

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. scale — in music
  4. game — a match
  5. kid — child
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. kid — to tease
  12. chair — a leader
  13. field — a subject
  14. rest — what's left
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. game — wild animals
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. rest — a break
  24. dip — to sink

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