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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. staff — employees
  8. clip — for paper
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — of a word
  11. cold — an illness
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — there
  14. present — the time now
  15. root — the cause
  16. clip — a video
  17. staff — a stick
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. staff — employees
  24. cold — the Cold War

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