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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: file · field · court · spring · leaves · mine · saw · rash

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. court — for sport
  4. rash — hasty
  5. mine — for digging
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. spring — of water
  9. court — of a king
  10. field — a subject
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rash — a series
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — the season
  15. saw — the tool
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. court — of law

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