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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. suit — clothes
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. season — in sport
  6. wake — a trail
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. suit — in cards
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — money
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. ground — crushed
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bat — the animal
  17. ground — the earth
  18. suit — to fit
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. season — of the year
  23. ground — a position
  24. leaves — to go away

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