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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. tube — the underground
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cold — an illness
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. game — a match
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. game — wild animals
  20. sharp — clever
  21. perch — the fish
  22. tube — a container
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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