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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. drill — the tool
  3. fall — to drop
  4. spell — a short time
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. drill — a practice
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. spell — magic
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. clip — a video
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. fall — the season
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. spring — the season
  17. clip — for paper
  18. drill — army training
  19. spell — letters
  20. clip — to cut
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. fall — to drop

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