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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bound — obliged
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cold — not warm
  10. land — a country
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bound — certain
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — ground
  18. prune — to trim
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bound — tied together
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cold — an illness
  24. coach — a trainer

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