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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. land — a country
  8. field — for sport
  9. last — final
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. land — to come down
  13. field — farmland
  14. file — a tool
  15. last — to go on
  16. cold — not warm
  17. land — ground
  18. cold — an illness
  19. file — a document
  20. field — a subject
  21. last — finally
  22. file — a line of people
  23. perch — the fish
  24. stand — to bear

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