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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. bore — to tire
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. hand — help
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — not warm
  15. clip — a video
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. plane — a tool
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bore — to drill
  24. wave — with your hand

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