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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  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. snap — to speak sharply
  2. last — final
  3. rush — hurry
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. snap — to click
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. board — to get on
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. board — a committee
  14. field — a subject
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — finally
  17. field — for sport
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. game — wild animals
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. field — farmland
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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