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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  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. temple — a place of worship
  3. spring — of water
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. last — final
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. spring — the season
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. band — a music group
  17. drill — army training
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. drill — the tool
  20. last — to go on
  21. drill — a practice
  22. spring — a coil
  23. last — finally
  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