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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 116 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. club — for dancing
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. wound — an injury
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. wound — an injury
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. club — for golf
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. club — a group
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. pitch — completely

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