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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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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: fall · rash · bark · game · leaves · saw · suit · cold

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cold — not warm
  3. game — a match
  4. suit — to fit
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. saw — the tool
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. fall — to drop
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bark — to shout
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. fall — the season
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. suit — clothes
  20. suit — in cards
  21. rash — a series
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. cold — an illness

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