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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 120 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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wound — an injury
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. field — farmland
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. capital — a city
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — of the year
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. swing — in golf
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bulb — for light
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. wound — an injury
  18. swing — music
  19. bulb — for light
  20. field — for sport
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. capital — money
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. field — a subject

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