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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. field — a subject
  3. fall — to drop
  4. saw — the tool
  5. present — a gift
  6. field — farmland
  7. lean — to bend
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — in sport
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — a thing
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. fall — the season
  14. object — an aim
  15. field — for sport
  16. season — of the year
  17. fall — to drop
  18. shower — to wash
  19. lean — thin
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. saw — the tool
  24. present — the time now

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