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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. prune — to trim
  3. last — final
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. hand — in cards
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bulb — for light
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. stand — to bear
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. prune — to trim
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. last — to go on
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. kid — child
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. date — the fruit
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. hand — help
  23. bulb — for light
  24. last — finally

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