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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 120 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. cold — an illness
  6. saw — the tool
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bulb — for light
  10. field — farmland
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. field — a subject
  16. foot — a measure
  17. board — to get on
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. bulb — for light
  24. board — a committee

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