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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cap — of ice
  7. swing — music
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. stand — to bear
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. swing — in golf
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. swing — to play on
  24. cap — a lid

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