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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. field — a subject
  4. rule — government
  5. band — a music group
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. suit — in cards
  8. field — for sport
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rule — a law
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. lean — thin
  17. band — a ring
  18. suit — to fit
  19. cold — an illness
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. lean — to bend
  22. suit — clothes
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. field — farmland

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