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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. field — farmland
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rock — a stone
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. wind — moving air
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. cold — an illness
  11. deal — to handle
  12. foot — a measure
  13. rock — music
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. degree — temperature
  16. can — to be able to
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. can — a tin
  22. cold — not warm
  23. degree — an amount
  24. rock — to move gently

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