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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wound · saw · firm · stick · pitcher · field · leaves · cold

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. saw — the tool
  7. field — for sport
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. saw — the tool
  11. field — farmland
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. field — a subject
  14. firm — a company
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. firm — decided
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. firm — steady

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