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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bound — tied together
  3. kid — to tease
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. season — in sport
  9. stem — to come from
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. hand — help
  14. bound — certain
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. field — farmland
  17. kid — child
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. last — finally
  22. season — of the year
  23. bound — obliged
  24. hand — part of the body

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