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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. club — for dancing
  3. field — for sport
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. club — for golf
  6. toast — bread
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. court — of a king
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. capital — money
  12. field — farmland
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. branch — a division
  16. club — a group
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. field — a subject
  21. capital — a city
  22. court — for sport
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. court — of law

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