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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 116 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 was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. mate — to breed
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. cold — an illness
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. chair — a leader
  10. drill — a practice
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. drill — the tool
  13. deal — to handle
  14. mate — a friend
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. drill — army training
  19. field — farmland
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. mate — a partner
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitch — completely
  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