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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 124 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bear — the animal
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. track — to keep track
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. field — a subject
  9. bear — the animal
  10. fine — all right
  11. race — humankind
  12. track — a song
  13. field — farmland
  14. cold — an illness
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. race — a contest
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. race — the arms race
  19. field — for sport
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. track — a path
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. patient — a sick person

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