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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 120 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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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: field · wind · pound · season · object · race · bat · leaves

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. field — for sport
  3. object — an aim
  4. object — to protest
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — a weight
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. field — a subject
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. object — a thing
  14. season — in sport
  15. wind — moving air
  16. season — of the year
  17. race — humankind
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. race — the arms race
  20. wind — moving air
  21. race — a contest
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. bat — the animal
  24. field — farmland

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