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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. wound — an injury
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. squash — the sport
  7. file — a line of people
  8. wound — an injury
  9. squash — to crush
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. file — a tool
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. rush — hurry
  22. snap — to click
  23. file — a document
  24. cell — in biology

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