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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. court — for sport
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. file — a document
  5. bear — the animal
  6. file — a tool
  7. clip — for paper
  8. court — of law
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. clip — to cut
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. clip — a video
  16. court — of a king
  17. bore — to tire
  18. date — the fruit
  19. file — a line of people
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bore — to drill
  22. deal — to handle
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bear — to put up with

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