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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. capital — money
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. file — a document
  13. rash — a series
  14. file — a tool
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wound — an injury
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. wound — an injury
  22. foot — a measure
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. file — a line of people

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