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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 120 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. fall — to drop
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. rest — what's left
  7. fall — the season
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rest — what's left
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. sharp — clever
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. rest — a break
  19. spring — the season
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cold — not warm

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