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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. craft — a skill
  7. present — the time now
  8. cold — not warm
  9. date — the fruit
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. ground — the earth
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ground — crushed
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. present — a gift
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. ground — a position
  20. present — there
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — boats

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