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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to drill
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cold — an illness
  18. track — a song
  19. pass — a permit
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. field — farmland
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. track — to keep track

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