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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. present — there
  5. cell — a phone
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cold — an illness
  10. present — the time now
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. present — a gift
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. land — ground
  23. cell — in biology
  24. leaves — to go away

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