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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cap — a hat
  3. field — farmland
  4. present — the time now
  5. cold — an illness
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — there
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — for catching
  11. saw — the tool
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. net — in sport
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cap — of ice
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — a partner

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