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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 116 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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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: branch · cap · bowl · fine · field · nail · cold · race

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. field — a subject
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. field — for sport
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cap — of ice
  10. race — humankind
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. race — a contest
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — a division
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. fine — high quality
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — a hat
  22. race — the arms race
  23. fine — all right
  24. field — farmland

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