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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 · bay · stick · rock · hide · cold · cabinet · game

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. rock — music
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. game — a match
  12. field — a subject
  13. cold — not warm
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. field — farmland
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. rock — a stone
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. field — for sport

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