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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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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 · leaves · field · wave · rash · firm · chair · deal

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. firm — a company
  3. chair — a leader
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cold — not warm
  8. firm — steady
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. field — for sport
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. cold — an illness
  17. field — a subject
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. rash — a series
  21. deal — to handle
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. rash — on the skin
  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