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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. last — finally
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. cold — an illness
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. stand — to bear
  7. game — wild animals
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. squash — to crush
  13. last — to go on
  14. capital — a city
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. squash — the sport
  18. capital — money
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. last — final
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. roll — a cake
  24. roll — a list

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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