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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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Word bank
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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. season — in sport
  3. can — a tin
  4. season — of the year
  5. cell — a phone
  6. row — a line
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. can — to be able to
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. row — to paddle
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. can — a tin
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. ball — a dance
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cell — in biology
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — for digging
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. ball — a great time

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