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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 116 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bear — the animal
  5. perch — the fish
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. rash — hasty
  9. fall — to drop
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. fall — the season
  13. bear — the animal
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. march — the month
  19. branch — a division
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rash — a series
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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