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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pop — to visit
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. saw — the tool
  9. capital — a city
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. mine — for digging
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. capital — money
  17. pop — music
  18. saw — past of 'see'

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