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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. net — for catching
  4. field — for sport
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. race — a contest
  7. net — after costs
  8. drill — a practice
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. field — farmland
  11. race — humankind
  12. drill — army training
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. field — a subject
  17. hand — in cards
  18. net — in sport
  19. drill — the tool
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. hand — help
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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