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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. field — for sport
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. field — farmland
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mine — for digging
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — a coil
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. field — a subject
  14. band — a music group
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. march — music
  18. spring — of water
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. march — the month
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. band — a ring
  24. march — the month

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