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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. capital — a city
  3. mark — a grade
  4. bound — tied together
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. mark — a trace
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bound — certain
  9. kid — to tease
  10. object — an aim
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. capital — money
  14. kid — child
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — to protest
  17. shower — rain
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bound — obliged
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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