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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. field — a subject
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. drill — a practice
  7. land — ground
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bass — low music
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bass — the fish
  12. field — farmland
  13. spell — magic
  14. land — to come down
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. spell — a short time
  17. land — a country
  18. spell — letters
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — the tool
  21. field — for sport
  22. cell — a phone
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. board — to get on

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