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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. season — of the year
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. fall — to drop
  5. clip — to cut
  6. object — a thing
  7. clip — a video
  8. object — an aim
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. game — a match
  12. clip — for paper
  13. fall — the season
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. object — to protest
  18. game — wild animals
  19. saw — the tool
  20. date — the fruit
  21. fall — to drop
  22. season — in sport
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. season — to add flavour

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