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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. band — a music group
  3. file — a tool
  4. kid — child
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. present — there
  9. present — the time now
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. season — of the year
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. file — a line of people
  15. season — in sport
  16. file — a document
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. wind — moving air
  22. band — a ring
  23. present — a gift
  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