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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 120 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pop — music
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. field — for sport
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pop — to visit
  11. field — a subject
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pop — soda
  15. swing — music
  16. pit — in a race
  17. field — farmland
  18. swing — in golf
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. branch — a division
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. foot — a measure
  24. hide — animal skin

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