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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. drill — army training
  3. chair — a leader
  4. field — farmland
  5. spring — the season
  6. field — a subject
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. drill — the tool
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. field — for sport
  11. spring — of water
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. net — for catching
  16. drill — a practice
  17. net — after costs
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. net — in sport
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. pass — a permit
  24. nail — for a hammer

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