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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: present · season · leaves · roll · scale · fall · cold · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. present — the time now
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. fall — to drop
  7. present — a gift
  8. cold — an illness
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. scale — in music
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — in sport
  14. fall — the season
  15. cold — not warm
  16. scale — size or range
  17. present — there
  18. season — of the year
  19. fall — to drop
  20. roll — a list
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. roll — a cake
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. hand — in cards

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