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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pass — a permit
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cold — not warm
  5. ball — a dance
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. ball — a great time
  8. field — farmland
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. field — for sport
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. tube — a container
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fine — high quality
  16. tube — the underground
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. fine — all right
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. cold — an illness
  24. field — a subject

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