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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  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. bat — the animal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. last — to go on
  6. staff — employees
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. last — final
  16. chest — a box
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. staff — a stick
  19. tear — to rip
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. staff — employees
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  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