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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. tube — the underground
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — a group
  9. tube — a container
  10. wound — an injury
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. club — for dancing
  14. rash — a series
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. hand — help
  20. snap — to click
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wound — an injury
  24. leaves — of a tree

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