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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. prune — to trim
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. file — a document
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chair — a leader
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. file — a tool
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. file — a line of people
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. mouse — the animal

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