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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 116 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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. pit — a hole
  4. clip — a video
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rule — a law
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. ball — a great time
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. ball — a dance
  15. clip — for paper
  16. snap — to click
  17. pit — in a race
  18. clip — to cut
  19. tear — from crying
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. rule — government
  24. tear — to rip

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