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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. game — a match
  8. row — to paddle
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cap — of ice
  13. roll — a list
  14. roll — a cake
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. cap — a lid
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. march — the month
  23. row — a line
  24. kick — with a leg

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