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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. wind — moving air
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. ball — a dance
  12. field — a subject
  13. mate — a friend
  14. field — for sport
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. mate — a partner
  17. bark — to shout
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. ball — a great time
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. field — farmland

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