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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. ground — crushed
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. tear — to rip
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. ground — a position
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wind — moving air
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. ground — the earth
  18. sharp — clever
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. wind — moving air
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. fan — a supporter

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