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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: key · can · cold · field · stick · arm · ground · wake

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. field — for sport
  4. ground — the earth
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — in music
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. key — for a lock
  10. field — a subject
  11. wake — a trail
  12. ground — crushed
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. can — to be able to
  16. field — farmland
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. ground — a position
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. cold — an illness
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — a tin
  24. wake — before a funeral

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