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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — low music
  6. land — a country
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cold — an illness
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. tear — to rip
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — ground
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bass — the fish
  24. land — to come down

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