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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. saw — the tool
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. cold — not warm
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. stock — goods
  11. cold — an illness
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. file — a tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. stock — shares
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. saw — the tool
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. date — the fruit

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