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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: leaves · season · degree · game · spring · field · fork · ball

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. game — a match
  3. degree — from a university
  4. game — wild animals
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. degree — an amount
  8. field — a subject
  9. ball — a dance
  10. season — of the year
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. degree — temperature
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. fork — in a road
  15. season — in sport
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — farmland
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. spring — of water
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. ball — a great time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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