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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. rush — hurry
  3. last — final
  4. cold — an illness
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. last — finally
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. last — to go on
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. bark — to shout
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. cold — not warm
  15. lean — thin
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. lean — to bend
  24. bark — of a tree

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