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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. mug — a face
  3. chest — a box
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mug — to rob
  7. ball — a dance
  8. chest — of your body
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. cold — an illness
  11. row — a line
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ball — a great time
  20. mug — a cup
  21. last — to go on
  22. file — a tool
  23. cold — not warm
  24. file — a document

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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