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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 · march · roll · game · wound · pit · snap · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. snap — to click
  3. game — wild animals
  4. march — the month
  5. roll — a list
  6. present — a gift
  7. wound — an injury
  8. present — the time now
  9. wound — an injury
  10. roll — a cake
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — in a race
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. game — a match
  24. leaves — to go away

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