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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 water is too ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rest — a break
  3. field — for sport
  4. craft — boats
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. pitch — completely
  10. dip — to sink
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. field — farmland
  13. fork — in a road
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. cold — an illness
  16. craft — a skill
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — a container
  19. field — a subject
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. rest — what's left
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — a garden tool

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