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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. chest — of your body
  6. last — to go on
  7. game — wild animals
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. last — final
  12. chest — of your body
  13. last — finally
  14. game — a match
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. tear — from crying
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rush — hurry
  21. chest — a box
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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