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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. lean — thin
  6. rule — a law
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. shower — rain
  13. ball — a great time
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. ball — a dance
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. rule — government
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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