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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · fork · race · stand · cold · field

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. race — the arms race
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. race — a contest
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. fork — in a road
  9. cold — not warm
  10. field — a subject
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. field — for sport
  15. cold — an illness
  16. race — humankind
  17. stand — to bear
  18. 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