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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. march — music
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. fall — to drop
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. march — the month
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — a trace
  9. stem — to come from
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. ground — crushed
  13. hand — in cards
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. hand — help
  16. ground — a position
  17. fall — to drop
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. fall — the season
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. ground — the earth
  22. march — the month
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. mark — to pay attention

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