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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: content · pass · field · bat · rest · cabinet · arm · cold

  1. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. field — for sport
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rest — a break
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. content — happy
  15. pass — a permit
  16. content — the amount
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. rest — what's left
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. cold — not warm

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