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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. spring — of water
  4. mate — a partner
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. spring — a coil
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chair — a leader
  9. spring — the season
  10. tube — a container
  11. mate — a friend
  12. wake — a trail
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. clip — to cut
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. bound — tied together
  18. clip — a video
  19. bound — certain
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. mate — to breed
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. bound — obliged

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