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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. lean — thin
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. cold — an illness
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pop — soda
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. perch — the fish
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. pop — music
  17. band — a ring
  18. lean — to bend
  19. plane — a tool
  20. band — a music group
  21. pop — to visit
  22. fine — all right
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. leaves — to go away

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