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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. lean — thin
  3. field — for sport
  4. mate — a friend
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. mate — a partner
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. field — farmland
  10. lean — to bend
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. perch — the fish
  17. stand — to bear
  18. charge — electricity
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. mate — to breed
  21. charge — a price
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. charge — in control
  24. stand — for spectators

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