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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. wound — an injury
  4. field — for sport
  5. key — in music
  6. present — the time now
  7. drill — a practice
  8. kid — child
  9. field — a subject
  10. drill — the tool
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. present — there
  14. wound — an injury
  15. present — a gift
  16. stem — to come from
  17. key — the most important part
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. key — for a lock
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. drill — army training
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. kid — to tease

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