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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — in music
  6. root — the cause
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. march — the month
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. march — the month
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. chip — for betting
  14. march — music
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — to eat
  17. root — of a word
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. root — of a plant
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. spring — of water
  24. cold — the Cold War

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