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

Word bank: kid · pit · fine · wound · rule · leaves · wake · saw

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. rule — a law
  4. kid — to tease
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. pit — a hole
  7. fine — all right
  8. rule — government
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. fine — high quality
  14. wound — an injury
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wake — a trail
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. pit — in a race

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