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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 120 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. march — the month
  3. saw — the tool
  4. club — for dancing
  5. chest — of your body
  6. club — a group
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. snap — to click
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. tube — the underground
  13. pound — a weight
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. chest — a box
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. club — for golf
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. chest — of your body
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. march — music
  22. tube — a container
  23. march — the month
  24. tube — in a tire

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