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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. degree — temperature
  5. field — for sport
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. stand — to bear
  13. wake — a trail
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. field — a subject
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mine — for digging
  21. degree — an amount
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. bark — to shout
  24. leaves — of a tree

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