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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. present — there
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. kid — to tease
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. saw — the tool
  10. staff — employees
  11. bass — low music
  12. kid — child
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. present — a gift
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bass — the fish
  20. saw — the tool
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. cold — the Cold War

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