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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. field — for sport
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. field — farmland
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lean — thin
  10. cue — a hint
  11. sharp — clever
  12. cue — a signal
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cue — for pool
  15. lean — to bend
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. field — a subject
  18. leaves — of a tree

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