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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. field — farmland
  3. last — to go on
  4. cold — an illness
  5. last — finally
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bank — of a river
  10. cold — not warm
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bank — for money
  13. perch — the fish
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. field — a subject
  17. drill — army training
  18. last — final
  19. drill — the tool
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. stand — to bear
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. field — for sport
  24. bank — for money

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