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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. field — farmland
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. row — a line
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. rush — hurry
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. rock — music
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. cold — not warm
  23. field — a subject
  24. row — to paddle

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