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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. fork — in a road
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. season — in sport
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. bulb — for light
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. field — a subject
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. game — a match
  12. season — of the year
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to click
  19. bulb — for light
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. game — wild animals
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. field — for sport

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