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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. wound — an injury
  4. field — farmland
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wound — an injury
  9. field — for sport
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cold — an illness
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. rash — hasty
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. field — a subject
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. hand — help
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — a series

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