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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. field — a subject
  3. drill — a practice
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. court — of law
  6. tube — a container
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — the tool
  9. field — farmland
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. swing — music
  12. staff — a stick
  13. swing — in golf
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. wind — moving air
  16. court — of a king
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. staff — employees
  20. field — for sport
  21. swing — to play on
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. court — for sport

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