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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rush — hurry
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. cold — an illness
  8. perch — the fish
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. wound — an injury
  12. board — a committee
  13. net — for catching
  14. court — for sport
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. court — of a king
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — in sport
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. court — of law
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. cold — not warm

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