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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cold — not warm
  6. ball — a dance
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. rash — a series
  9. ball — a great time
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rash — hasty
  13. saw — the tool
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. wake — a trail
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. plane — a tool
  24. fan — to cool the air

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