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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. rash — a series
  4. net — for catching
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. net — in sport
  9. band — a ring
  10. lean — thin
  11. cold — not warm
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. fine — all right
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fine — high quality
  16. lean — to bend
  17. band — a music group
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. net — after costs
  21. rash — hasty
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. rock — a stone
  24. fine — a penalty

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