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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: track · field · cold · straw · fan · pop · fall · deal

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. fall — the season
  3. pop — to visit
  4. track — a path
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. field — a subject
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. deal — to handle
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. pop — soda
  15. track — to keep track
  16. field — farmland
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — not warm
  21. track — a song
  22. pop — music
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cold — an illness

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