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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 124 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. band — a music group
  3. craft — boats
  4. land — a country
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. craft — a skill
  9. sharp — clever
  10. land — to come down
  11. band — a ring
  12. chip — for betting
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. toast — bread
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. chip — to eat
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. land — ground
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. craft — a handicraft

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