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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. file — a document
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — a city
  11. bat — the animal
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. wake — a trail
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. file — a line of people
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. bear — the animal
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. branch — a division
  23. capital — money
  24. file — a tool

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