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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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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. clip — to cut
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. field — farmland
  5. staff — employees
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. field — for sport
  10. degree — temperature
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. field — a subject
  14. staff — a stick
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. degree — from a university
  17. lie — to recline
  18. cold — an illness
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. degree — an amount
  23. staff — employees
  24. lie — an untruth

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