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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 116 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. spring — of water
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. spring — the season
  6. cold — an illness
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. root — of a plant
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. field — a subject
  11. fork — in a road
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cold — not warm
  14. root — the cause
  15. content — happy
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. field — for sport
  20. root — of a word
  21. content — the amount
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. fork — to eat with
  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