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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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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: current · safe · fall · pitch · field · mate · cold · rash

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. mate — a partner
  7. field — farmland
  8. mate — to breed
  9. field — for sport
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pitch — completely
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — of water
  15. rash — a series
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. current — electric
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mate — a friend
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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