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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. track — a path
  4. track — a song
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. chest — of your body
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. track — to keep track
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spring — a coil
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. game — wild animals
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. leaves — to go away

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