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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bear — the animal
  9. saw — the tool
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — to handle
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rest — what's left
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. saw — the tool
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. clip — to cut
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. clip — a video
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rest — a break

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