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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. row — to paddle
  3. fork — in a road
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. cap — of ice
  8. field — for sport
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. cell — in biology
  13. field — farmland
  14. toast — bread
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. cap — a lid
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — letters
  20. row — a line
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cap — a hat
  23. field — a subject
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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