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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. land — a country
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. field — a subject
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. fall — to drop
  7. net — after costs
  8. fall — to drop
  9. land — to come down
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. fall — the season
  13. net — in sport
  14. field — for sport
  15. rash — a series
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. rash — hasty
  21. net — for catching
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. land — ground

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