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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: bear · cold · fork · field · dip · stand · race · straw

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. field — farmland
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. dip — to sink
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. cold — an illness
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. bear — the animal
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. stand — to bear
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. field — a subject
  23. bear — the animal
  24. fork — to eat with

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