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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. rash — hasty
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. net — for catching
  6. race — a contest
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. court — for sport
  12. content — happy
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. court — of law
  16. net — in sport
  17. content — the amount
  18. court — of a king
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. race — humankind
  22. saw — the tool
  23. net — after costs
  24. saw — the tool

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