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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. face — part of the head
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. band — a ring
  6. hand — in cards
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. march — music
  11. season — of the year
  12. tear — from crying
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. hand — help
  16. band — a music group
  17. cold — not warm
  18. face — to point toward
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. cold — an illness
  22. season — in sport
  23. face — to confront
  24. tear — from crying

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