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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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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: fork · cell · leaves · field · mine · chair · bass · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bass — the fish
  5. cell — a phone
  6. chair — a leader
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. bass — low music
  9. cell — in biology
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. field — for sport
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. race — a contest
  19. mine — for digging
  20. fork — in a road
  21. race — the arms race
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. leaves — to go away

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