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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. capital — a city
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. present — the time now
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. field — for sport
  7. lean — thin
  8. file — a tool
  9. capital — money
  10. fall — to drop
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. fall — the season
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. lean — to bend
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. file — a document
  19. present — there
  20. field — a subject
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. file — a line of people
  23. present — a gift
  24. fall — to drop

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