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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. spell — a short time
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. staff — employees
  5. present — a gift
  6. content — happy
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. land — a country
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. land — to come down
  11. content — the amount
  12. staff — a stick
  13. cold — an illness
  14. present — the time now
  15. spell — magic
  16. staff — employees
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. spell — letters
  19. present — there
  20. cold — not warm
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. wake — a trail
  23. land — ground
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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