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

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. firm — a company
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cold — an illness
  6. firm — steady
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. net — for catching
  9. bear — the animal
  10. march — music
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. field — farmland
  13. chest — a box
  14. bear — the animal
  15. net — in sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. march — the month
  19. chest — of your body
  20. net — after costs
  21. bulb — for light
  22. firm — decided
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — not warm

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