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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. wind — moving air
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cold — an illness
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. stem — to come from
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wind — moving air
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. mark — a grade
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. pitch — completely
  17. cold — not warm
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. mark — a trace
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pitch — a sports field

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