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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. file — a document
  3. rash — hasty
  4. board — a committee
  5. field — for sport
  6. cap — a lid
  7. content — happy
  8. rash — a series
  9. cap — of ice
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. content — the amount
  13. board — to get on
  14. file — a tool
  15. cold — not warm
  16. file — a line of people
  17. field — farmland
  18. cold — an illness
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. plane — a tool
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. cap — a hat
  24. field — a subject

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