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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cold — not warm
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. field — for sport
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — to bend
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. fine — all right
  17. wake — a trail
  18. field — a subject
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. field — farmland
  21. cold — an illness
  22. lean — thin
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bowl — a dish

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