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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. last — final
  3. track — a path
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. track — to keep track
  6. kid — child
  7. last — finally
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. last — to go on
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. chest — of your body
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. roll — a cake
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. kid — to tease
  16. track — a song
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. chest — a box
  19. bark — to shout
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. chest — of your body
  23. roll — a list
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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