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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 120 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: can · cold · rush · lash · mate · ball · capital · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. ball — a great time
  3. can — to be able to
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mate — a partner
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. field — for sport
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rush — hurry
  12. field — farmland
  13. capital — money
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — a tin
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. mate — to breed
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. mate — a friend
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. capital — a city

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