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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. ball — a dance
  4. season — in sport
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cap — a lid
  7. wound — an injury
  8. shower — rain
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. ball — a great time
  11. cap — of ice
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. shower — to wash
  14. season — of the year
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. content — happy
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cue — a signal
  21. content — the amount
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. cue — for pool
  24. wound — an injury

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