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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: cold · press · mine · tear · firm · field · club · date

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mine — for digging
  7. firm — a company
  8. field — for sport
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. field — a subject
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. press — to push
  15. club — a group
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cold — an illness
  18. firm — steady
  19. press — a publisher
  20. field — farmland
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — for dancing
  23. date — the fruit
  24. firm — decided

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