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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. pop — to visit
  8. lean — to bend
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. bank — for money
  11. ball — a dance
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bank — of a river
  14. pop — music
  15. bat — the animal
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. pop — soda
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bank — for money
  24. lean — thin

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