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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 124 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. row — to paddle
  6. staff — a stick
  7. clip — for paper
  8. staff — employees
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. stand — to bear
  18. clip — a video
  19. field — farmland
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. field — a subject
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. staff — employees
  24. bay — a horse colour

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