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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.

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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a dance
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. stem — to come from
  6. drill — army training
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. drill — a practice
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — in music
  11. key — for a lock
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. field — for sport
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. drill — the tool
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. field — a subject
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. field — farmland

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