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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. track — a song
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. field — a subject
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. land — to come down
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. track — to keep track
  14. field — for sport
  15. cold — not warm
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. field — farmland
  19. cold — an illness
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. track — a path
  22. land — ground
  23. deal — to handle
  24. land — a country

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