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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. field — a subject
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a song
  8. bound — obliged
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. field — farmland
  12. bound — certain
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. kick — in football
  15. bound — tied together
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. field — for sport
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. track — a path
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — the underground

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