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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. field — farmland
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. ground — a position
  9. bore — to drill
  10. field — a subject
  11. chip — to eat
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — for betting
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — a measure
  21. ground — the earth
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bore — to tire
  24. racket — for tennis

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