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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. cold — not warm
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. shower — rain
  5. clip — a video
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. rest — a break
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. clip — to cut
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. rest — what's left
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. clip — for paper
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. hand — part of the body

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