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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: stick · scale · mate · cold · field · pass · spring · pit

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pass — a permit
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mate — a friend
  9. field — a subject
  10. scale — in music
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. field — farmland
  14. spring — of water
  15. pit — in a race
  16. scale — size or range
  17. mate — to breed
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. field — for sport
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pit — a hole
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mate — a partner
  24. spring — 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