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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mine — for digging
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. cold — not warm
  9. perch — the fish
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. press — newspapers
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bat — the animal
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — to push
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — thin
  23. foot — a measure
  24. bat — in an idiom

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