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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 116 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: cell · cold · mark · stand · lie · wax · bowl · field

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. stand — to bear
  3. cell — a phone
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. field — for sport
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. field — a subject
  12. wax — to grow
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. mark — a trace
  15. field — farmland
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cold — an illness
  20. lie — to recline
  21. cold — not warm
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. stand — on your feet

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