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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: field · pop · shower · can · cold · coach · lie · snap

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — to be able to
  6. shower — rain
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. can — a tin
  10. lie — to recline
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. pop — to visit
  13. cold — an illness
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. snap — to click
  16. pop — music
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pop — soda
  20. field — farmland
  21. shower — to wash
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. field — a subject
  24. cold — not warm

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