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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. saw — the tool
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. key — for a lock
  7. field — farmland
  8. deal — to handle
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. field — for sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. key — in music
  15. season — of the year
  16. board — to get on
  17. key — the most important part
  18. field — a subject
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chest — a box
  21. season — in sport
  22. board — a committee
  23. chest — of your body
  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