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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. spring — the season
  3. rest — a break
  4. field — farmland
  5. spring — of water
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rest — what's left
  8. mark — a grade
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. mark — a trace
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cold — not warm
  16. field — a subject
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. spring — a coil
  20. field — for sport
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — a permit
  24. cold — an illness

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