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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. rash — hasty
  3. can — a tin
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. march — the month
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cell — a phone
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. lean — to bend
  13. spring — of water
  14. rash — a series
  15. last — to go on
  16. can — a tin
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. can — to be able to
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. spring — the season
  23. last — finally
  24. last — final

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