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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. ball — a great time
  3. last — final
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. stand — to bear
  6. field — farmland
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bear — the animal
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. last — to go on
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. last — finally
  16. field — for sport
  17. cold — not warm
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. pass — a permit
  21. ball — a dance
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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