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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. kid — to tease
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. court — for sport
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — the time now
  7. rash — hasty
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. clip — for paper
  10. court — of a king
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bore — to drill
  14. clip — a video
  15. rash — a series
  16. present — there
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. kid — child
  24. court — of law

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