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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. staff — employees
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. spell — magic
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. spell — a short time
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. spell — letters
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. snap — to click
  24. march — the month

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