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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — for sport
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. field — a subject
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cold — not warm
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. hide — to keep secret

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