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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bear — the animal
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. branch — a division
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. field — farmland
  11. lean — to bend
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — tied together
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bound — certain
  18. lean — thin
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. field — for sport
  24. cold — an illness

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