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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  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 — of a tree
  2. drill — army training
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wound — an injury
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. row — a line
  8. drill — the tool
  9. cap — a lid
  10. wound — an injury
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. fork — in a road
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. drill — a practice
  15. file — a tool
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cap — a hat
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. file — a document
  22. row — to paddle
  23. cap — of ice
  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