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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. fork — in a road
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. ball — a dance
  5. kick — in football
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. season — of the year
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. ball — a great time
  16. field — for sport
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. season — in sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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