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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 · cold · drill · arm · cabinet · chest · bulb · racket

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. drill — army training
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. cold — an illness
  6. field — a subject
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. field — for sport
  10. bulb — for light
  11. drill — a practice
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. chest — of your body
  22. field — farmland
  23. drill — the tool
  24. chest — a box

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