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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 120 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: cold · cue · field · race · pit · rash · bowl · last

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. field — for sport
  4. pit — in a race
  5. race — a contest
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. race — the arms race
  8. field — farmland
  9. cue — a hint
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cue — for pool
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. field — a subject
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. race — humankind
  18. pit — a hole
  19. last — to go on
  20. cue — a signal
  21. last — final
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — a series
  24. last — finally

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