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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 116 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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. staff — employees
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. mate — to breed
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. suit — in cards
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. land — ground
  10. scale — size or range
  11. staff — employees
  12. content — happy
  13. mate — a partner
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. suit — to fit
  18. staff — a stick
  19. land — a country
  20. content — the amount
  21. land — to come down
  22. mate — a friend
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. scale — in music

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