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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. board — a committee
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — hurry
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. field — for sport
  10. board — to get on
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. field — a subject
  20. lie — to recline
  21. stand — to bear
  22. field — farmland
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. bat — the animal

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