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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. face — to confront
  7. bear — the animal
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. field — a subject
  11. tube — a container
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. pitch — completely
  18. drill — army training
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. tube — the underground
  21. drill — a practice
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bear — the animal
  24. drill — the tool

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