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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a lid
  7. key — the most important part
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. mine — for digging
  11. field — a subject
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. clip — to cut
  14. stock — shares
  15. key — in music
  16. cap — a hat
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stock — goods
  19. key — for a lock
  20. clip — a video
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. field — farmland
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. clip — for paper

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