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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: pitcher · firm · craft · race · cold · press · field · court

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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. firm — steady
  4. race — humankind
  5. court — of law
  6. field — farmland
  7. craft — a skill
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. firm — decided
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. court — of a king
  12. press — newspapers
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. race — a contest
  15. firm — a company
  16. race — the arms race
  17. press — to push
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. press — a publisher
  20. court — for sport
  21. craft — boats
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. field — for sport

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