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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 116 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pit — a hole
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. pit — in a race
  13. bat — the animal
  14. hand — help
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. scale — in music
  17. game — wild animals
  18. lean — thin
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. fork — in a road
  23. lean — to bend
  24. hand — part of the body

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