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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: leaves · rest · club · fine · cold · lie · pop · bat

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. club — for dancing
  4. bat — the animal
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pop — soda
  10. rest — what's left
  11. fine — all right
  12. cold — an illness
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. club — a group
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rest — a break
  17. club — for golf
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. lie — to recline
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pop — music
  24. rest — what's left

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