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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. field — farmland
  11. toast — bread
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. can — a tin
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. field — for sport

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