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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. scale — size or range
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fork — in a road
  10. spring — of water
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. dip — to sink
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. hand — help
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. spring — a coil
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. spring — the season
  24. fork — to eat with

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