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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: staff · leaves · fan · branch · cell · object · field · cold

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. object — to protest
  3. cell — in biology
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. object — a thing
  6. staff — employees
  7. field — for sport
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. staff — a stick
  11. field — farmland
  12. object — an aim
  13. branch — a division
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cold — an illness
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cell — a phone
  24. staff — employees

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