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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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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: drill · wake · leaves · pound · key · rule · field · fall

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. wake — a trail
  3. rule — a law
  4. fall — the season
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. key — for a lock
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. drill — a practice
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. drill — army training
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rule — government
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. drill — the tool
  21. pound — a weight
  22. key — in music
  23. field — a subject
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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