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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. spell — a short time
  5. band — a music group
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. court — for sport
  8. mate — to breed
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. mate — a friend
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. drill — the tool
  13. spell — letters
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. field — for sport
  16. spell — magic
  17. court — of law
  18. drill — a practice
  19. mate — a partner
  20. court — of a king
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a ring
  23. field — a subject
  24. drill — army training

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