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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. wind — moving air
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. bat — the animal
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — for betting
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wind — moving 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