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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · lie · stock · bowl · file · field · pass · ball

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. field — farmland
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a tool
  8. field — for sport
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. stock — goods
  12. ball — a great time
  13. field — a subject
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. lie — to recline
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. stock — shares
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. pass — a permit
  23. ball — a dance
  24. lie — an untruth

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