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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: chest · bay · bat · leaves · sharp · cold · fine · bowl

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. chest — of your body
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. fine — high quality
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. cold — not warm
  24. fine — all right

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