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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. hand — help
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. field — for sport
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — a coil
  12. hand — in cards
  13. march — music
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — the underground
  17. march — the month
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. march — the month
  20. field — farmland
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. spring — of water
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. vault — a safe

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