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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. mark — a grade
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. land — a country
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. land — to come down
  8. rest — what's left
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. suit — to fit
  14. stand — to bear
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mark — a trace
  18. suit — clothes
  19. cap — of ice
  20. field — a subject
  21. land — ground
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. mark — to pay attention

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