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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.

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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: coach · race · leaves · season · file · field · last · bulb

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. file — a tool
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. field — farmland
  8. race — the arms race
  9. season — of the year
  10. field — for sport
  11. last — to go on
  12. file — a line of people
  13. last — finally
  14. race — humankind
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. field — a subject
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. bulb — for light
  20. season — in sport
  21. last — final
  22. race — a contest
  23. bulb — for light
  24. file — a document

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