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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. staff — a stick
  4. net — for catching
  5. staff — employees
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bound — obliged
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bound — tied together
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. saw — the tool
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bound — certain
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wake — a trail
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. cold — an illness
  21. net — after costs
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. net — in sport

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