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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. spring — the season
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a cake
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. race — the arms race
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. face — to point toward
  9. cap — of ice
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cap — a hat
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. roll — a list
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. spring — of water
  19. wake — a trail
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cell — in biology
  22. face — part of the head
  23. spring — a coil
  24. face — to confront

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