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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 120 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. staff — a stick
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. staff — employees
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cold — not warm
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. staff — employees
  14. bore — to tire
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bear — the animal
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bear — to put up with

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