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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. field — for sport
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. fall — to drop
  6. spring — of water
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. field — farmland
  9. cold — not warm
  10. game — a match
  11. spring — a coil
  12. band — a music group
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. field — a subject
  15. cold — an illness
  16. spring — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rush — hurry
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. fall — the season
  21. band — a ring
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. rush — a thrill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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