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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. cell — a phone
  3. object — an aim
  4. chip — to eat
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. cold — not warm
  9. object — to protest
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cell — in biology
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. object — a thing
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. chip — for betting
  24. leaves — to go away

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