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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. wake — a trail
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. drill — army training
  7. field — for sport
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. fine — high quality
  12. season — of the year
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. drill — a practice
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. rush — hurry
  18. fall — the season
  19. drill — the tool
  20. cell — a phone
  21. fine — all right
  22. field — a subject
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cell — in biology

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