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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. spring — a coil
  3. kid — child
  4. rash — hasty
  5. file — a line of people
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. rash — a series
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. kid — to tease
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. file — a tool
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. file — a document
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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