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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. mate — a partner
  3. cold — an illness
  4. field — farmland
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cold — not warm
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. mate — a friend
  10. cue — a signal
  11. cue — a hint
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rock — music
  15. field — for sport
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — goods
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. mate — to breed
  21. cue — for pool
  22. field — a subject
  23. rock — a stone
  24. nail — on a finger

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