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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's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cap — of ice
  4. field — for sport
  5. bank — for money
  6. ball — a dance
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bank — for money
  19. cap — a lid
  20. ball — a great time
  21. bank — of a river
  22. cap — a hat
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. field — farmland

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