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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. net — after costs
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. net — in sport
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pass — a permit
  11. net — for catching
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. staff — employees
  14. row — a line
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. field — a subject
  17. row — to paddle
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. field — farmland

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