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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 always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. shower — rain
  4. field — for sport
  5. clip — for paper
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. branch — a division
  8. clip — a video
  9. field — farmland
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. suit — clothes
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. shower — to wash
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a hole
  19. clip — to cut
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. suit — in cards
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. suit — to fit
  24. branch — of a bank

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