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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. suit — to fit
  3. suit — clothes
  4. can — to be able to
  5. wax — to grow
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. spring — the season
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. kick — in football
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. suit — in cards
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spring — a coil
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. spring — of water
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cold — an illness
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — a tin

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