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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. face — to confront
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. face — to point toward
  8. date — the fruit
  9. cell — in biology
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wake — a trail
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. face — part of the head
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. leaves — to go away

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