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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — finally
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. cell — in biology
  9. wake — a trail
  10. roll — a list
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. last — final
  16. rash — a series
  17. roll — a cake
  18. cell — a phone
  19. plane — a tool
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bat — the animal
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. cell — in a prison

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