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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. fall — the season
  4. fine — all right
  5. game — a match
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. pit — a hole
  8. fall — to drop
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pit — in a race
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. game — wild animals
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fine — high quality
  19. club — for golf
  20. fall — to drop
  21. club — a group
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bear — the animal

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