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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 120 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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. foot — a measure
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bass — low music
  7. cell — in biology
  8. court — of a king
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cold — an illness
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. court — for sport
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. bass — the fish
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. court — of law
  23. band — a rubber band
  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