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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 · bear · content · wind · roll · net · cell · lean

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. roll — a cake
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. content — the amount
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. lean — thin
  8. net — for catching
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. content — happy
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wind — moving air
  14. net — after costs
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. roll — a list
  18. lean — to bend
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. net — in sport
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bear — the animal
  24. content — videos and posts

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