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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. board — to get on
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. stock — goods
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. field — farmland
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. prune — to trim
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. field — for sport
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. stock — shares
  18. season — of the year
  19. wind — moving air
  20. board — a committee
  21. season — in sport
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. coach — a trainer

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