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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. sharp — clever
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. tear — from crying
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. tear — to rip
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. cell — in biology
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. deal — to handle
  24. bowl — a football final

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