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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. court — of law
  3. field — a subject
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. field — farmland
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. spring — of water
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. fork — in a road
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. court — for sport
  12. stand — to bear
  13. mate — a friend
  14. branch — a division
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. field — for sport
  17. mate — a partner
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. court — of a king
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. spring — the season

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