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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. last — finally
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. track — to keep track
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. last — to go on
  10. track — a song
  11. wound — an injury
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. saw — the tool
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. last — final
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. staff — employees
  21. track — a path
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. saw — the tool
  24. staff — employees

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