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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bat — the animal
  7. season — of the year
  8. cold — an illness
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. season — in sport
  22. fork — in a road
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. fork — a garden tool

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