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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. content — the amount
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bear — the animal
  6. lean — thin
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. degree — from a university
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. cold — an illness
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cold — not warm
  16. content — happy
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. degree — temperature
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — to bend

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