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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. wind — moving air
  4. court — for sport
  5. roll — a cake
  6. roll — a list
  7. vault — a safe
  8. last — to go on
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. root — of a plant
  11. wound — an injury
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. last — finally
  19. last — final
  20. wound — an injury
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. root — of a word
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. root — the cause

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