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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: fan · dip · suit · bear · current · cold · clip · field

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. suit — to fit
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. bear — the animal
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. dip — to sink
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cold — an illness
  10. suit — clothes
  11. cold — not warm
  12. clip — to cut
  13. suit — in cards
  14. field — farmland
  15. clip — a video
  16. current — of water
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. current — happening now
  19. field — a subject
  20. current — electric
  21. field — for sport
  22. bear — the animal
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bear — to put up with

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