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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. season — of the year
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. tube — the underground
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. clip — a video
  8. season — in sport
  9. clip — for paper
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. row — a line
  15. lie — to recline
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. tube — a container
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. chest — of your body
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. row — to paddle
  24. clip — to cut

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