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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. present — the time now
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. mate — a friend
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. mate — a partner
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stand — to bear
  12. spring — of water
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. present — a gift
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. mate — to breed
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. present — there

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