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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. deal — to handle
  5. cold — an illness
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. file — a document
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. date — the fruit
  16. perch — the fish
  17. file — a tool
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. tube — a container
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. tube — the underground
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. 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