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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. last — final
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. ball — a dance
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. last — to go on
  12. cell — a phone
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. net — after costs
  16. ball — a great time
  17. cell — in biology
  18. field — for sport
  19. net — in sport
  20. last — finally
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. net — for catching
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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