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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. lean — to bend
  3. court — for sport
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. hand — help
  8. ball — a great time
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bore — to drill
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ball — a dance
  15. court — of law
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. court — of a king
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bore — to tire
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. lean — thin
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bat — the animal

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