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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. spell — a short time
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. race — the arms race
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. spell — letters
  8. key — the most important part
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. key — for a lock
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. spell — magic
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. key — in music
  15. race — a contest
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — to play on
  18. prune — to trim
  19. field — for sport
  20. race — humankind
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rush — hurry
  24. swing — music

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