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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. rush — hurry
  7. net — after costs
  8. cell — in biology
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. pound — a weight
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. cell — a phone
  14. last — final
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. last — to go on
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. last — finally
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. kid — child
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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