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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. bat — the animal
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. mate — to breed
  5. march — music
  6. roll — a cake
  7. last — to go on
  8. march — the month
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. mate — a partner
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. mate — a friend
  16. march — the month
  17. last — final
  18. last — finally
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. roll — a list

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