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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. mug — a face
  4. chest — a box
  5. present — the time now
  6. present — a gift
  7. mug — a cup
  8. chest — of your body
  9. season — of the year
  10. clip — for paper
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. clip — to cut
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. present — there
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. pound — a weight
  18. cell — in biology
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. season — in sport
  21. cell — a phone
  22. clip — a video
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. mug — to rob

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