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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. drill — a practice
  7. foot — a measure
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. drill — army training
  13. swing — to play on
  14. wake — a trail
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. drill — the tool
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — music

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