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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 124 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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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. squash — the sport
  4. last — to go on
  5. field — farmland
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. game — a match
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. last — finally
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. field — a subject
  17. last — final
  18. game — wild animals
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. squash — to crush

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