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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. field — farmland
  4. pitch — completely
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. field — for sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. can — to be able to
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. cold — an illness
  14. can — a tin
  15. field — a subject
  16. can — a tin
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. cold — not warm
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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