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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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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. staff — a stick
  3. wound — an injury
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. staff — employees
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. content — the amount
  12. shower — to wash
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. rock — a stone
  17. staff — employees
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. rock — music
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. shower — rain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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