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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 116 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pop — music
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mate — a friend
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. pop — to visit
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. pop — soda
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wound — an injury
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a line
  22. saw — the tool
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — a loud noise

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