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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — tied together
  5. stem — to come from
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. can — to be able to
  10. hand — help
  11. last — to go on
  12. bound — obliged
  13. ball — a great time
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. last — final
  16. last — finally
  17. can — a tin
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. saw — the tool
  22. can — a tin
  23. ball — a dance
  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