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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. ball — a dance
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. drill — the tool
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. pit — in a race
  9. ball — a great time
  10. lie — to recline
  11. drill — a practice
  12. field — a subject
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. drill — army training
  16. pit — a hole
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. field — for sport
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. leaves — of a tree

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