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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 120 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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cold — an illness
  4. file — a line of people
  5. hand — in cards
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. lean — to bend
  8. season — of the year
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. lean — thin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. cold — not warm
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. file — a tool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. season — in sport
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. hand — help
  24. file — a document

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