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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. bulb — for light
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. land — to come down
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. land — a country
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. branch — a division
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bulb — for light
  22. mine — for digging
  23. land — ground
  24. rush — hurry

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