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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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468
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: season · hide · stick · leaves · wound · wake · bat · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. season — in sport
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bat — the animal
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wake — a trail
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. chair — a leader
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. wound — an injury
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. season — of the year

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