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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 124 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. field — farmland
  3. cell — a phone
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. field — for sport
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. cell — in biology
  12. season — in sport
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. staff — employees
  15. ball — a great time
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. field — a subject
  19. staff — employees
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. ball — a dance
  22. season — of the year
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. cell — in a prison

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