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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.

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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 · lie · pitcher · fan · chip · field · rock · can

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. field — farmland
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. can — a tin
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cold — an illness
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. chip — for betting
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — to eat
  19. rock — music
  20. can — to be able to
  21. can — a tin
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. rock — a stone

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