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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. land — ground
  4. scale — size or range
  5. march — the month
  6. land — a country
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. tube — a container
  10. hand — help
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. march — the month
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. land — to come down
  20. march — music
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. hand — in cards
  24. scale — in music

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