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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. field — a subject
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. sharp — clever
  5. field — for sport
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. bass — the fish
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. field — farmland
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fall — to drop
  14. branch — a division
  15. fall — the season
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. bass — low music
  18. fall — to drop
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. wave — of the sea

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