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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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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 · mate · date · board · snap · cold · trunk · deal

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  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. trunk — of a car
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. board — a committee
  6. field — a subject
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. date — the fruit
  10. board — to get on
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. deal — to handle
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. field — farmland
  23. mate — to breed
  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