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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wake — a trail
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. land — a country
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. field — a subject
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cold — an illness
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. field — farmland
  16. rest — what's left
  17. land — ground
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. land — to come down
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. field — for sport

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