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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. shower — rain
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. game — wild animals
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wound — an injury
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. stem — to come from
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. game — a match
  20. present — the time now
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. shower — to wash
  23. present — there
  24. wound — an injury

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