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

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bulb — for light
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. roll — a cake
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bound — certain
  7. cold — an illness
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bound — tied together
  12. roll — a list
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. cold — not warm

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