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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  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 — to go away
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. club — for dancing
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bear — the animal
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for golf
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. plane — a tool
  18. bear — the animal
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. kick — in football
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. kick — with a leg
  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