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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 112 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. spring — of water
  3. bear — the animal
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. snap — to click
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. file — a tool
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bear — the animal
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. spring — a coil
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. land — a country
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. file — a line of people
  18. spring — the season
  19. land — to come down
  20. file — a document
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. land — ground
  24. chair — a leader

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