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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. object — an aim
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wound — an injury
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cap — of ice
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — to protest
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland

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