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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. key — for a lock
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. key — in music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. mate — a partner
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. wind — moving air
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. chest — of your body
  15. key — the most important part
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mate — to breed
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. chest — a box
  22. bat — the animal
  23. mate — a friend
  24. bat — for baseball

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