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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. fine — all right
  4. bear — the animal
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. kid — to tease
  8. file — a tool
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. fine — high quality
  11. root — of a plant
  12. wind — moving air
  13. file — a document
  14. root — of a word
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. root — the cause
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. file — a line of people

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