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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. mark — a grade
  3. capital — a city
  4. root — of a plant
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. capital — money
  12. tear — from crying
  13. root — of a word
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. club — a group
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. club — for dancing
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. root — the cause
  21. wind — moving air
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. wind — moving air
  24. jam — in traffic

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