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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. content — happy
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. chip — to eat
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. content — the amount
  20. dip — to sink
  21. chip — for betting
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. kick — in football
  24. fork — in a road

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