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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. ball — a great time
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. fall — to drop
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. land — ground
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. prune — to trim
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. fall — the season
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. land — to come down
  16. fall — to drop
  17. prune — to trim
  18. snap — to click
  19. ball — a dance
  20. land — a country
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. ball — a round shape

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