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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cold — not warm
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. rash — hasty
  6. tube — a container
  7. lean — thin
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. lean — to bend
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. tube — the underground
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. rash — a series
  24. bowl — a dish

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