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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. field — farmland
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. field — for sport
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cold — not warm
  10. field — a subject
  11. cue — a hint
  12. drill — the tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cue — for pool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. drill — army training
  18. wound — an injury
  19. craft — a skill
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. craft — boats
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. tear — from crying

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