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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. bat — the animal
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. perch — the fish
  11. clip — to cut
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. season — in sport
  15. root — of a plant
  16. wake — a trail
  17. clip — a video
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. clip — for paper
  20. root — of a word
  21. season — of the year
  22. can — a tin
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. root — the cause

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