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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. season — of the year
  5. cold — an illness
  6. lie — to recline
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. suit — clothes
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. suit — to fit
  12. cold — not warm
  13. field — farmland
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. suit — in cards
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. wake — a trail
  18. tube — the underground
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. season — in sport
  23. stand — to bear
  24. tube — a container

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