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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. cold — not warm
  4. date — the fruit
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. mark — a trace
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mine — for digging
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. ground — a position
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mark — a grade
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. band — a music group
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. band — a ring
  24. cold — an illness

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