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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. land — a country
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. current — happening now
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. content — the amount
  9. scale — size or range
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. saw — the tool
  12. content — happy
  13. cold — not warm
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. land — ground
  16. current — of water
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wound — an injury
  19. scale — in music
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. land — to come down
  23. current — electric
  24. cold — an illness

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