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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. ground — a position
  3. court — of a king
  4. file — a tool
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. court — of law
  14. court — for sport
  15. file — a document
  16. ground — crushed
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bulb — for light
  19. ground — the earth
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pitch — a sports field

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