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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. season — in sport
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. field — a subject
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. cap — of ice
  10. can — a tin
  11. cap — a hat
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. can — a tin
  18. game — wild animals
  19. season — of the year
  20. can — to be able to
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cap — a lid
  23. field — farmland
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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