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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. field — farmland
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. field — a subject
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fall — the season
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pitch — completely
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bark — to shout
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. field — for sport
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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