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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. prune — to trim
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. field — farmland
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. field — a subject
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wind — moving air
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. mate — a partner
  20. field — for sport
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. mate — a friend

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