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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.

Make a worksheet

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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468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mate — a partner
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. mate — a friend
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. mate — to breed
  9. dip — to sink
  10. net — in sport
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cell — a phone
  15. net — for catching
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. net — after costs

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