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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. chest — of your body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. court — for sport
  8. chest — of your body
  9. squash — to crush
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — help
  12. chest — a box
  13. last — final
  14. last — finally
  15. last — to go on
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — certain
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — of law
  20. bound — tied together
  21. wound — an injury
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — the sport

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