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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. leaves — of a tree
  2. track — a path
  3. cold — not warm
  4. race — a contest
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. track — a song
  8. swing — in golf
  9. race — the arms race
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. spring — the season
  13. swing — to play on
  14. track — to keep track
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cold — an illness
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. swing — music
  22. race — humankind
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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