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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. tube — a container
  3. bat — the animal
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. roll — a cake
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. stand — to bear
  10. band — a music group
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. band — a ring
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. roll — a list
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. tube — the underground
  24. wound — an injury

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