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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 116 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. file — a tool
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a line of people
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. chair — a leader
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city

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