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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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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: present · cold · ruler · field · board · cap · pitch · saw

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. cold — not warm
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cap — a hat
  5. field — a subject
  6. cap — a lid
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — to get on
  9. field — farmland
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. present — there
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. present — the time now
  14. saw — the tool
  15. field — for sport
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pitch — completely
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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