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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. spring — of water
  3. swing — in golf
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. wake — a trail
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. swing — to play on
  11. lie — to recline
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. field — farmland
  17. staff — employees
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. swing — music
  20. field — for sport
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. bark — to shout

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