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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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Word bank
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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. field — a subject
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. rock — music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. scale — in music
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — for sport
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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