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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. net — in sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pass — a permit
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. chest — a box
  10. net — for catching
  11. spell — letters
  12. club — for dancing
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. club — a group
  15. club — for golf
  16. field — a subject
  17. spell — magic
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. spell — a short time
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — for sport
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. net — after costs

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