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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. spring — of water
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. land — to come down
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. drill — the tool
  8. fork — in a road
  9. drill — a practice
  10. land — a country
  11. spring — a coil
  12. drill — army training
  13. fall — to drop
  14. land — ground
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fall — the season
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spring — the season
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. ball — a dance
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. ball — a round shape

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