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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: fall · leaves · game · mate · field · content · lean · staff

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. field — farmland
  4. staff — employees
  5. game — a match
  6. fall — to drop
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — to bend
  9. content — happy
  10. fall — to drop
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. content — the amount
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. staff — employees
  15. game — wild animals
  16. lean — thin
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. staff — a stick
  19. field — a subject
  20. mate — a friend
  21. field — for sport
  22. mate — to breed
  23. fall — the season
  24. content — videos and posts

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