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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: leaves · field · racket · mate · spring · present · snap · rule

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. mate — a friend
  3. present — the time now
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. mate — to breed
  6. present — a gift
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. spring — the season
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. field — a subject
  13. mate — a partner
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. snap — to click
  20. present — there
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. rule — government
  24. leaves — to go away

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