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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 120 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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. drill — the tool
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mate — a partner
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. drill — army training
  8. spring — the season
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mate — to breed
  12. cell — a phone
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. drill — a practice
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. tear — to rip
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. mate — a friend
  21. spring — of water
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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