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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. field — for sport
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. field — a subject
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. field — farmland
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. board — a committee
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. board — to get on
  17. wound — an injury
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cold — not warm

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