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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. swing — in golf
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. race — the arms race
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. game — a match
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. cue — for pool
  10. race — a contest
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. cue — a signal
  14. race — humankind
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bark — to shout
  18. game — wild animals
  19. field — for sport
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. swing — music
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. cue — a hint

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