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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  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. row — a line
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. mate — a friend
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. field — for sport
  9. stand — to bear
  10. deal — to handle
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bass — the fish
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cold — an illness
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bass — low music
  19. mate — a partner
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. field — farmland
  22. mate — to breed
  23. stand — on your feet
  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