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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: mate · pitcher · dip · rush · cold · field · shower · can

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — for sport
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. can — a tin
  11. dip — to sink
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. shower — rain
  15. field — farmland
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. rush — hurry
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mate — to breed

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