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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cap — of ice
  4. toast — bread
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. field — a subject
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cap — a hat
  9. field — farmland
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. season — of the year
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. content — the amount
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stock — shares
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. stock — goods
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. cap — a lid
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. content — happy
  24. season — in sport

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