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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. fall — the season
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. cap — of ice
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. field — a subject
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cap — a lid
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. shower — rain
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. field — farmland
  21. snap — to click
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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