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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. roll — a cake
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. clip — a video
  7. drill — army training
  8. race — humankind
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. race — a contest
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. clip — to cut
  19. drill — a practice
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cell — a phone
  23. stand — to bear
  24. roll — a list

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