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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. field — a subject
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. plane — a tool
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. bass — low music
  9. field — for sport
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pound — a weight
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. spring — of water
  15. bass — the fish
  16. game — wild animals
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. field — farmland
  20. spring — the season
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — a match
  24. spring — a coil

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