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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. cold — not warm
  3. fork — in a road
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. kid — child
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. march — music
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. kid — to tease
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. march — the month
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. march — the month
  19. dip — to sink
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. cold — an illness
  22. foot — a measure
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. fork — to eat 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