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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 120 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: staff · prune · stand · craft · field · cap · dip · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cap — a hat
  6. stand — to bear
  7. field — for sport
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. staff — employees
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. cap — a lid
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. dip — to sink
  14. craft — boats
  15. cap — of ice
  16. prune — to trim
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. prune — to trim
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. field — farmland
  23. craft — a skill
  24. field — a subject

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