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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 120 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. kid — child
  3. bound — obliged
  4. pit — a hole
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. cap — a lid
  8. fork — in a road
  9. bound — certain
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. spring — the season
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. last — to go on
  22. spring — of water
  23. pit — in a race
  24. bound — tied together

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